Invisible Touch
by HellzLittleAngel
Summary: I remember a time when ghosts were fairy-tales. And I'd say, "Nu-uh! You liar! Demons aren't real!" And he'd answer back, "How do you know?"
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"I _dare _you to..." I raise an eyebrow at Sora, who scratches his head in thought. He starts looking around my bedroom, studying everything, and I'm guessing he's trying to think of a horrible dare. I roll my eyes.

"Sora, this is-"

"Shush!" He stands up and starts looking around. We've played this game ever since we were little – there's _nothing _else he can dare me to do. I've done it all – streaked, cursed at my parents, flipped off the mail-man... "I've got it!" I raise my head at Sora's outburst, and he looks evil. A smirk is on his face, which totally doesn't fit his cute features, but what can you do? Anyway he's pointing out the window, and I stand up, standing next to him. He's pointing at a house.

"Okay, I see a house too. So?"

"Ughh you're no fun! I _dare _you to spend a _week _in that house – and you can't come out until next Sunday!"

"Um... okay, but why?" He gives me a look like as if I've grown boobs. Which I _haven't_. Thank God for that.

"You don't _know!" _Sora's eyes look frightened and he's fidgeting with his fingers.

"Know _what_?" I match his voice with scared mockery. An irritated look passes through his features.

"You're kidding, right? You don't know about the men that died there?" I shook my head – instantly becoming interested. When there's death, I'm there. "Ugh, I shouldn't tell you – you'll _totally _back out like the chicken you are."

I scoff, "Try me."

The brunet sighs and sits down on my bed, acting as if he's told the story a million times. Instinctively, I sat down on the floor in front of him; legs crossed and curious eyes stalking his own.

"Well, how should I start it..." He makes a face and scratches the back of his neck, "There was this group that lived in that house a long time ago. I think somewhere in the early 1900's. I dunno the names, but there were eleven of them. Only two woman." I frown – my perverted mind going straight to those men _raping _two innocent women, "Word on the street, back in the day, said they did _black-magic_, or some sort of witchery. So no one spoke to them and spoke about them. And they all wore black. I think they were like black cloaks. Something that caused a stir in appearance.

"So all they had was each other. It seemed like their families no longer existed, and they just lived in the same house. Some people thought those men were holding the women hostage. Others thought the women were the ones that started the witchcraft. Needless to say, no one tried to find out the truth. Even today, no one knows _what _happened in that house. On August 13th, 1903, the fire department got a call from the neighbors who lived in _our _house. They said there was a fire next door.

"When the firetrucks came, everybody gathered around the house, and there were horrible screams... frightening shouts... everybody could hear a girl screaming in pain and the house erupted in flames. Some witnesses saw a redheaded man by the window before the fire got too serious. Said he was just standing there, looking out, smiling.

"Ever since then, earlier residence reported there were like... bangings on the walls, and doors slamming shut. One girl actually _died _there. On August 13th, 1945, some girl named Namine hung herself there. That's _exactly _40 years before the fire came. No one lives there now – _seriously, _who would? And well, that's it..." He becomes silent.

I stare at Sora with wide eyes...

And then I burst out laughing.

His eyes narrow dangerously at me. "What?" He snaps.

"You _honestly _believe that shit?" I let another bark of laugh shudder my body. "That's the most cliché-ish story I've ever heard! But 'A+' on the creativity." The look on his face shows he's serious, but how can I take this seriously? It's a legend – it _isn't _true. This boring town's ought to make up a story sooner or later and pick on the old abandoned house.

"If you're so high and mighty about it, why don't _you _prove to me that it isn't true!" Sora snarls. I smirk.

"Don't mind if I do."

_~~~1903138~~~_

I rake a hand through my golden hair. A groan builds up in my chest, but I bite it back. It's windy right now, so some of my hair is still somewhat flying into my eyes. It's frustrating, but I refuse to show it. Leaves gather around the street, and some of them crunch under my footsteps. It isn't exactly a nice sound – what, with my disturbed little mind and gory, horror movies combined – but at least it's _a _sound. The street is dead-silent, but that might be just because only five houses live on the road. If someone were to sneeze outdoors, I think everybody would walk outside just to see what the commotion was.

I stand in front of the last house on the street. Weird, you would think, to see a fifteen-year-old boy just _standing _in his neighbor's yard, more or less _this _neighbor isn't even alive anymore. But nobody questions anything – mainly because _they don't care_. Which is a good thing, I guess, because it would really suck if I had to explain the stupid dare Sora had given me.

Which leads us back to this house.

A sigh escapes my lips and I look up at the setting sun. The sky is an orange-ish red color. I love watching the sun set. It's absolutely breath-taking. Ever since I was ten, I would watch the sun set whenever I could.

Now it makes me sad to think I've stopped doing that. Now I haven't got as much patience as I had when I was younger.

Now wasn't the time to be standing there, watching the sun until dusk.

I take a hold of the small bag, which had somehow fallen onto the grassy mud, and take a few steps forward. _Crunch, crunch, crunch. _Imagines of bones breaking enter my mind, causing a slight frown to mark my features. If I'm staying here for the night, the _last _thing I want to think about is death and horror and gory messes. I'm already scared fuckless to even enter the place. Legends keep echoing in my head. Sora had said all those things just to _make _me scared. They can't honestly be true.

There's no such thing as ghosts.

After the slight quarrel had passed, I continue my way up the concrete. Now the sun has lowered more. It's making the shadows come out. The darkness. As far as I've known, darkness is the number one thing I can _not _stand. It's a frightening thought to be looking into the dark and see nothing, but _know _there's something there. Almost like, as I think of it, _drowning _in something you can't escape.

My feet step up on the porch steps. The wooden railings are scraped and dried out. It looks as though no one has repainted it in over fifty-years. It's not hard to believe. The flooring is the same, and the steps sound cracked. Almost like they might collapse under my weight. Noting this, I quickly step up the other two steps, hearing the same mewl from them. And now I'm in front of the door. It's a darkish brown, just like everything else, but strangely it looks refurnished. The doorknob, too, looks as clean as ever. As if nobody has ever laid a single finger on it. The small window at the very top of the door is dusted up, but no cracks – nothing.

I make a face at it. _That _isn't normal, but then again, I think that old lady from across the street might come over here every so often. Maybe she'll come over tonight with some tea. We could chat and drink tea until dawn, and then I could go on with my life. It seems like a pretty good plan.

A smile reaches my lips as I reach for the doorknob, and then my smile fades. Despite the cold weather, the doorknob is warm. I roll my eyes. _Maybe there's a furnace by the door or something, _I think, turning the doorknob and pushing through. The door makes an eerie creaking noise, but I ignore it and walk through. The place looks old. That's the only way I can describe it. _Old looking. _In what looks to be a small hallway leading to the living room, the flooring is cracked and ashed. The walls have scratches on them, and there's glass everywhere. Thank God I decided to wear sneakers rather than flip-flops.

I close the door behind me, not casting a last glance, and lock it automatically. It's strange – I have always had this habit of locking doors if they do possess a lock. I think it just makes me feel safer.

I walk through the hallway, ignoring the crunching of the glass under the soles of my shoes, and feel my breath hitch. The living room looks... _gorgeous_. There's a real dark, kind of blood-red shaded couch in the middle of the room – it looks like a love-seat. A small glass table stands on either sides of it, polished and everything. There's an antique dresser by the window left of the couch, and the wall across from the couch sits a rather expensive-looking television. Sadly, it isn't a high-def colored television, but it looks kind of like mine – big and bulky. The walls are a simple white, but what I note is there's no cobwebs in the corner.

Someone's been here.

My mind immediately makes me think of the old lady from across the street. It _is _a possibility. Maybe I can ask her tomorrow if she's ever been here. If not, I bet a mailman might've checked the place out. Or maybe a hobo stumbled across the place, found it was empty, and is now plotting its way into being a billionaire.

At least, that's what _I'd_ do.

I take another look around, noticing how... _cold _it is.

The sun is almost down – I can tell with the shadows becoming more greater.

"...This is it?" A small laugh escapes my mouth, following the sentence. "You've gotta be kidding me."

* * *

**A/N: -_- Not amused by how short this chapter is. Man, I was writing this in document, and I was pretty happy because this was four-pages, and I thought, "it has to be at least 2,500 words!" I put it on Fanfiction, and BAM! A whopping 1,700 words. D: I'm so disappointed. Anyway I got this idea from reading Marionette and Silhouette. :D Go to my favorites and look at those stories - they are _amazahing_!**

**Alright, I've wasted your time enough. I _promise _bondage, rape, yaoi in the later chapters ;D**

**Reviews are the air to my lungs~ (Review or I'll die D:)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

No fucking way.

This place's got _a working microwave_!

My eyes widen at the beautiful, old, but working microwave in my face. It's glossed with dust and small dark spots. The numbers are faded out, but I can easily tell where everything is. Even the time still works on it. **10:00 PM **it reads. Exactly perfect. I can make _food _now! And _not _starve like Sora probably thinks! And... and...

And I _forgot _those frozen TV dinner's at my house.

My once happy face turns into a complete scowl. I glare at the beautiful device, mumbling something rather rude to it and walk out of the cold-tiled kitchen. My butt lands on the love seat; the cushions jumping at my suddenly weight and causing my bag to fall onto my thighs. The smell of sweets fill my nostrils, and I'm almost tempted to take out one of those Zebra Cakes and have at it. Unfortunately for it, I am not in the mood to eat sweets and chocolate and candy like I would normally feel. Instead, I _actually _want dinner for once. As in ice-cold Dr. Pepper in a can, followed closely by tender, juicy steak and warm, fluffy mash potatoes.

My stomach agrees with me.

I make a face and give my stomach a stern look. It _needs _to shut up so I can focus on other things.

Like figuring out if this place's got wireless Internet.

Easily slipping my Net Book out of the bag, I flip the cover open and immediately hit the power button. For a moment, it's all dark, along with the rest of the room, but eventually it lingers on the Start-screen like the stubborn creature it is. After what seemed like ten minutes, the computer finally comes to my ID and password. _K-e-y-b-l-a-d-e._

"Password approved," I mouth the words as the computer voice speaks in such a bored voice. "Welcome, KeybladeWielder." Finally.

And to my own question... _Yes! Internet!_

After logging into everything and anything I can, a chat-box pops up.

_**LightDestiny says:**_

_ Are you dead yet?_

I roll my eyes at typical Sora. Of _course _he's asking me that.

_**KeybladeWielder says:**_

_Yeah, I'm dead. Leave me alone. _

_**LightDestiny says:**_

_Ohhhhh, so I can have all your stuff? Kay, thanks, bye! _

With eyes widened, I begin typing furiously.

A scream causing me to startle and drop my laptop onto the floor. I blink with wide eyes, looking behind me at the dark hallway. The scream sounds feminine; pain and sorrow lacing the voice. I stay tense and still until the scream finally comes to end, but while my eyes scan the darkness, nothing comes out of it. With eyebrows furrowed, I keep staring for at least ten more minutes. I'm _supposed _to be the only one in this house, right? 

Taking a deep breath to calm my pounding heart, I reach down to grab my laptop.

All I grab is air.

My eyebrows furrow as I swing my arm around, but nope – my fingers touch no solid object. Panic begins to run through my veins and I crawl onto my knees on the floor; my fingers probing the dusty floor while my eyes scan the dark room. It's almost like my laptop wasn't even sitting in my lap in the first place.

"Shit.." I whisper to myself – raking a hand through my hair. This isn't happening. How could my _laptop_, the most dearest thing to me, be _gone_? It wasn't in my hands not fifteen seconds ago!

Another scream startles me. I feel my blood run cold from the fear coursing through my body faster than I could even register the sound. When it does reach my ears, I feel my heart practically stop beating for a few seconds. But finally it begins to beat at a fast pace, and the scream ends with a hoarse sob.

And then silence.

Gathering up as much courage as I can muster (which, I have to admit, isn't a lot), my legs grab a mind of their own and begin running into the darkness. The cold air nips at my skin, but I pay no mind to it and find the staircase. Another bone-chilling scream. I almost fall while crawling to the top of the steps.

Using my ears, I race down a hallway. My feet stop in front of a door at the end of the corridor. It's a perfectly normal door - white with random designs carved into the wood. There's dim lighting from underneath, but if I'm correct, it might just be the moon reflecting into the room-

"_HELP ME...!" _I startle at the scream – making out words this time. They sound hoarse and shrill – goosebumps rising seconds later. My hand wraps around the doorknob into a tight fist; tight enough to make my knuckles grow white. And then I push it open.

My eyes fall first on the blood. Blood is splattered everywhere; the floors, the walls, the human being herself. It's sickening. Eyes trailing over this girl's body; I almost want to gag. Her skin is stained with red on the pale flesh. She's wearing a white little dress; obviously the blood is stained on it as well. Her neck is pierced with a little line of red under a rope attaching to the ceiling. Her fingers are digging into the soft skin; cutting; desperately trying to, as it seems, claw the rope off. Her face seems worse of all. Eyes bulging out of their sockets like those little toys you'd squeeze. Her jaw is open; blood seeping through the lips and down her chin. Blonde and red hair cover half her face – the other part looks to be under the rope as well.

And she's screaming. Not noisy screams; no, she's screaming in silence. Clear liquid runs down her cheeks. And she's staring at me.

I cover my mouth with my hand; trying hard not to scream myself. But the fear bubbling in my chest finally pops, and I find myself running away from the room; running through the darkness. Now she's screaming with such high-pitch noise I can barely stand it. Part of me wanted to stay – wanted to help her. But that part isn't being used now. I don't _want _to be around that girl. I don't _want _to even know how she got herself into a noose. More or less how she got into the house.

I don't _want _to stay here.

In the living room now, I'm gathering all my stuff. I shove my pastries into the bag; the charger for the laptop; the books I set out; _everything_.

I slip on my converse and swing the bag over my shoulder. There's a chilled feeling in the air. It makes my stomach protest; demanding to listen because the air is _thick_. It's silent, too. I don't hear that girl. I don't even hear the ticking of the clock in the kitchen. It's completely _silent._

I let out a shivered breath, hitching the backpack closer on my back and begin walking through the hallway that leads to the door. My whole body is trembling as I grab the doorknob and twist it open.

The thing is, it _didn't _open.

My eyebrows furrow with panic. How can it _not _open? The deadbolt on the lock is practically ripped and charred. I tug the doorknob again, but all I hear is the jingling of the doorknob being shoved up against the door. "What the hell..?" I whisper to myself. My feet begin backing away from the door. I turn around and walk into the living room, going straight to the window and peeking out from the blinds. It's pitch-black outside, but I can still make out the silhouettes of the houses and cars. From here, I can see my light in my room turned on. A shadowy figure walks by the window, which, may I assume, is Sora.

Sora.

That's _it_! I pull my phone out and dial Sora's number; pressing the phone rather harshly against the side of my face.

"Hello?" He answers on the third ring.

"Sora. I am not staying in this house." I snap.

"What? Why? Are ya _chicken_?"

"Wha- no I'm not!"

"Apparently you _are _if you can't handle one measly week in a haunted house."

"It's _not _haunted."

"Hah, that's what you think." My eyes narrow at the phone. "And anyway, if you _do _want out, then I can just take you to go see Tifa. I'm sure a wrestle match with her will be just as bad as the house." My eyes widen at the words. Fuck. _No. _I am _not, _no way in hell, going to go _fight _Tifa. She's way worse than Kairi, and that's _actually _saying something.

"No," I snarl, "I'm not fighting Tifa."

"Good, then you should totally call me tomorrow to see how things are- Crap, Riku's on the other line. Have a good night, Roxas!" Before I can utter a sound, the click in my ear proves he hung up.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys. Yep, chapter two! I am kind of disappoint with this chapter - I think it might be because of the lack of Axel and the lack of bondage/rape, but then again, that's just me. Kind of took me a while to type up the first half - so if the writing is obviously horrible in the beginning, it's mainly because I struggle. ]: Sorry. **

**Yep, I guess I'll be updating every Saturday now. **

**Reviews are the munny to my wallet [;  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

4:23AM.

Why is it so early in the morning? A better question should be – why am I up this late? Oh yeah, there's nowhere to sleep. I sigh and rest my head on the headrest of the love seat. Yeah, it's comfortable, but I got unnaturally _cold _when I attempted to sleep on it. It feels like someone put on the AC. I'm shivering to death, and there just is no way in hell that I'm going to go back up those steps. I can't even begin to imagine what could still be up there. That girl... I wonder if I had just hallucinated her. I must have. I haven't heard a soul up there ever since I called Sora. Maybe I'm just so tired that Sora's words got to me and I hallucinated up some fucked-up girl hanging herself. Yeah, that's it.

Back to reality, I'm still freezing to death. After about ten more minutes, I finally decide walking around might be best, unless I want to wake up frozen into an ice cube or have cancer or some other illness. Yeah, that's _exactly _what I need. Something else to add to my insanity.

I roll my eyes and pull myself up to my feet. The socks and shoes aren't warming my toes up, so now my feet feel like two blocks of ice. Despite the house, I have a habit of taking my shirt off before I lay down. So now imagine a shirtless, cold-as-fuck sixteen-year-old male who's walking around in the darkness like some sort of moron.

It did occur to me to turn on the lights, though. I manage to walk over to a noticeable lamp and twist the knob. The dim light flickers for a few seconds, _on, off, on, off, _and finally it stays dark. I let out a sigh and try the overhead. The same thing happens. This place not _only _needs a furnace, but it needs working lights. Isn't this just great?

4:49AM. Time is going entirely too slow. I briefly wonder if it's worth staying downstairs, rather down exploring upstairs and find a bedroom.

Then I remember the noose and decide it's _plenty _worth it.

By 5AM, a problem occurs to me.

I _have _to pee.

A small whimper escapes my lips as I look around. I hadn't thought of exploring the house to see where the bathrooms were. I bite my lip. What am I supposed to do _now_? For some odd reason, I'm locked in the house, and I don't know where another door is, if there is. I would think there would be something like a back-door – another exit, but the urge to pee is growing rapidly.

Now I _really _need to go.

Letting out a small groan, I half-walk, half-run into the kitchen, praying to God there's a toilet. Unfortunately, I'm not that lucky. All I see are pots and pans, and with the glow of dawn slowly inching towards me in the sky, I can make out more figures than I could being in the pitch-black. There's the kitchen table (not to mention the table looks as though a paper could make it collapse), counters, a sink, an out-dated oven, and a door.

A door?

I frown a bit; confusion probably etched into my face. God knows I have nothing better to do. I walk over to the door and wrap my fingers around the doorknob. It's cold. _Ice _cold. But considering I'm just as cold, I pay no mind to it and twist it open.

The air turns thick and tense. My frown deepens as I open the door, feeling a gust of... _warm _wind blow past my skin. The goosebumps that had naturally been on my skin slowly fade and instead I begin to feel a little hot. So _this _is where they furnace is kept! I must find a way to bring the hot air _up here_! Slowly, a smile replaces the frown, but only for a second.

I realize I still _have to pee._

Biting my lip in urgency, I peek down the dark steps. There's a light at the very bottom. Faded, but it's down there alright. With some sort of hope that it might _actually _be a bathroom, I stomp down the steps, ignoring the whining of each floorboard. When I reach the bottom, it's so fucking hot I'm practically sweating. Briefly thanking myself for taking off my shirt earlier, I race towards the light, and oh thank the Heaven's. A bathroom.

After taking care of business, I wash my hands in the sink. This bathroom is disturbing, as far as I know. Mainly because it's _warm_. Aren't bathrooms supposed to be ice-chilling? Well, every bathroom that I've been in my life has been unnaturally cold. And this one's warm? Maybe there's a built-in furnace inside the bathroom. Oh, I would probably congratulate the engineers who built this house. Or construction workers. Either one. They're a genius.

Taking a sleepy yawn, I walk out of the bathroom, not caring to look at the details of the room. Instead, my knee comes in contact with something rather hard and sturdy.

"Oww!" I whimper, holding my knee and narrowing my eyes at whatever furniture it was. But instead of a glare, my eyes widen in shock and surprise. A bed. It's a bed. And quite a beautiful bed at that – wood glossed and detailed with lion heads at the very top; the sheets a dark red shade along with the pillows; shaped like a circle and definitely a King-Sized bed.

"Holy fuck..." I whisper to myself. This has _got _to be a dream. It's too... beautiful to be real.

Another yawn escapes my lips. I know I'm becoming more and more tired from the heat. It feels like the sun is cooking my flesh. It's beginning to get uncomfortable, but I can't deny the fact that there's a _strong _urge to lay down in that bed and sleep away the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I have no "other" voice to tell me rights and wrongs, so I easily collapse onto the bed. Ah, it feels like a cloud. So soft and smooth... so tired... so... so sleepy...

Ignorance to myself, I hadn't realized the door at the top of the stairs had closed by itself until later.

_~~~1903138~~~_

Sweat beads down my forehead. That's the first thing I notice when my eyes shoot open. I blink a few times, recollecting information on where I am. The kitchen; the bathroom; the bed; the heat...

Oh. Well, then why am I awake? I should be asleep – it only feels like it's been an hour. I toss around on top of the bed, turning myself onto my stomach and taking quite a bit of effort to pull out the cell phone from my pocket. I glance it with wary eyes.

9:12PM.

Wait, what? I blink a few more times, rubbing my eyes again and again to make sure I'm not mistaking "PM" for "AM". But no, it's night. A window to the far left proves "PM" is correct. Wow, I slept that much? Didn't think I'd sleep for the whole day, but oh well. I guess I'm turning nocturnal now. Well, isn't that great? I can turn into a fag vampire and stalk naïve guys to suck their blood now. Oh, jolly.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I toss my phone to the side and crawl out of the bed, all too aware that my pants feel drenched with sweat. Might as well dispose of them.

I slip my pants off and toss them on the floor close to the bathroom door. It feels the heat increased, but it might just be me.

Just as I'm about to disappear into the bathroom, some catches my eye. A light? Eyebrows furrowed, I take cautious steps towards another door farthest from the bathroom and the staircase. It's cracked, and inside is completely dark, all except for that strange light. When I open the door though, confusion and fear creases itself onto my face.

It's my laptop.

And it's alive.

Wouldn't it have died already?

I shakily take a few steps into the closet and kneel down. The laptop looks completely unharmed, but it says the internet is down.

Wasn't the internet working last night?

Maybe down here there's no signal.

A better question – _why _is it down here? I don't ever remember walking down here and placing my laptop in this closet.

No, my laptop was _taken_ in here. By something. By someone.

Who?

As if on cue, the door slams shut behind me. I let out a squeak and spin around, meeting darkness. Now my only light is the laptop. I grab the doorknob but quickly withdraw. It's white-hot. Almost as if it's on fire.

"Let me out!" I scream, banging my fists on the door. I go for the doorknob again and twist it, hissing in pain, feeling blisters forming onto my palm the longer I hold it. The doorknob won't budge though, so with no other choice, I let it go.

That's when something shoves me to the wall next to me.

I cry out; spine tingling with fear; back aching and arching forward from the violent shove. My head bounces off the wall and I can already feel a migraine coming on. But I don't have much time to think, because all of a sudden, everything goes dark.

I strain my neck, ignoring the strange feeling of... of _hands _grasping my wrists, and stare at my laptop. It's too dark to tell, but I'm pretty sure someone... some_thing_ closed it. I shiver.

Desperate to get whatever is on me _off_, I struggle against the thing. Hot breath breathes on my neck, while those "hands" keep a strong hold on my wrists. A body presses against me so I have little room to move around, while something sharp; almost like _teeth _grazing my neck. Shudders escape my body.

"Your name is Roxas... right?" I freeze. The voice speaking in my ear is so... sultry, but haunting. I didn't _see _anyone in the closet, but then again, Sora does say I'm _quite _the blind one. Stupid Sora.

"Who wants to know?" I snarl, but my voice cracks a little from the lack of confidence. The thing holding me down must've realized this, because it laughed. A strange, beautiful laugh; almost melodic. I felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment, seeing as it must be laughing _at _me. The laughter slowly ceases, and I begin to feel uncomfortable. The person; the man, isn't doing _anything_. I feel self-conscious, and as I begin squirming around; _desperate _to get away from whatever it's doing.

A soft cry escapes my lips as my boxers are roughly jerked off my legs. A cold wind runs around my thighs, and I shiver terribly for a moment, but the air turns unbelievably warm in seconds. No, not warm, _hot_. _Melting hot. _It feels like my skin might melt off from the heat surrounding my body. The being laughs at my reaction and, assuming it is what I think it is, a mouth attacking my nipples. They instantly perk up, but I breathe out a shaky moan, unable to do anything else. The being rubs my nipple in between their lips. It feels so _wrong_. It feels so _good_.

A pair of hands begin feeling my body; feeling every curve and flesh they can. That's also when I realize my wrists are no longer bounded together to the wall. Strange, though. When I push forward, the only thing I'm met with is a body as strong as the wall. After about the fifth time of trying to get past the being, only allowing breathy moans to escapes my lips, the man disappears.

I blink, my hands shakily reaching out, but only succeeding in touching mere air. Confusion is clearly etched across my face. _What in the hell..._

A bit dazed, I take hesitant steps out of the closet. I don't even care that I'm naked. Nor do I care that the air is increasingly hot. I can still feel the ghost touches of those hands on my body; the feeling of my nipples abused. I know I shouldn't enjoy it. It's a sin to enjoy something like _that_. Mom's a big nailer on sins and God and all that stuff. Me, I don't really give a shit, but then again, I'm not quite into knowing about some guy who created all of us. That's cool and all, mom, but I don't care.

After a few more steps, I collapse onto the bed. The dull arousal isn't bothering me too much. But the heat is _seriously _making me sleepy. I don't want to go to sleep. Not without knowing what the hell attacked me. But I'm so tired... _soo _tired...

And just like that, I'm out like a light.

* * *

**A/N: I feel like a tease. XD Yeah, I do feel bad for not writing the full lemon, but c'mon, it's only the third chapter. Lucky for you guys, the next chapter will most likely have some pretty damn good rape, if I do say so m'self, -sniffs smugly- **

**XD Alright, I ain't that smug. Besides, this chapter is like, "MEHHHHHH". At least, that's what my brain tells me. ;_;**

**Nothin' much to say, so, without further ado:**

**Reviews are the pencils to my papers~  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Hours after I had woken up, I found myself standing in the middle of the cold living room, pacing back and forth; fully dressed and ready to get out of this god-awful place. My phone is death-pressed against my ear while its ring echos in my cranium. Seconds past and he _won't _answer his phone.

"_Hey, this is Sora! You're either too annoying or too weird for me to answer the phone. If you're important enough, I'll call you back! Ciao!" _I hang up in aggravation and dial the number again. Damn Sora for always, for some reason, keeping his phone on silent. I could be _dying _right now and he's not answering! Damn it, Sora, pick your phone up!

"Hello?" A lighter, bored, and extremely tired voice answers, and for a moment my mind draws blank.

"Uh..." _Who in the hell just answered my cousin's phone? _

"It's Riku. What do you want, Roxas?"

My face twists into a grimace. Ew, Riku. There's no way I could ever forget that stupid bastard. "I need to talk to Sora." _Why the hell would I have called Sora's phone if I didn't want to talk to him? _I bite my lip to keep the sarcastic comment; lifting myself up and beginning to pace around the large, bittersweet room.

"He's in a shower. Call later, Roxas."

"Nice try – it's midnight!" I get no answer, "Riku, don't you _dare_-" Beep. ..._hang up on me. _I sigh, pulling the phone away from my ear. I swear, sometimes I wonder what in the seven Hell's Sora sees in that guy. He's rude, cold, and most irritating – passive aggressive. I will _never _get with a guy like him. Better yet... I will _never _get with a guy at all. It seems like the gay guys around here are either just as ruthless as Riku or too flamboyant, like Jeffree Star. I don't think I'll ever find my soul-mate if I keep being picky, but I know hell will be let loose if I'm left alone with a clone of Riku's.

I throw the phone to the ground, grumbling to myself. Not only do I have a strong urge to get out of this house, but also I have a strong urge to wrap my fingers around Riku's flimsy little throat and strangle him to death. Oh, yes, that would be heaven. But that's also called homicide, and I do not wish to be locked up in some cold cellar, waiting for a pint of water and whatever gook they serve in prison. I think dealing with Riku is much better than those surroundings.

Anyway I lift my eyes to the clock. Only ten minutes after midnight. Isn't that just wonderful? I've wasted ten minutes of my life trying to get a hold of Sora. Oh, and of course, Riku just _has _to answer. And then he has the audacity to _lie, _saying Sora's in the _shower_. Really? Can't he think of a better excuse than that? I narrow my eyes and stalk over to the window, peering out and seeing _my _light in _my _room beaming; wasting energy. Two shadowy figures from behind my window envelope together; causing me to grimace and close the blinds. If anything, I knew I had to wait until morning before I could leave. If I left now, I could get caught with mom. She'd ask why I wasn't at Hayner's house for the week, and then she'd call his parents up, and it'd just be one whole big mess.

I sigh and collapse on the couch. Twiddling with my thumbs, my thoughts go back to that room downstairs. Why was it so warm? You'd think the heat would go upstairs, but of _course _this house doesn't _want _to share the heat. And then... A shiver passes through my body. What in the _hell _attacked me? I still have my suspicions that it must have been some sort of prank, but then again, why would they wait _this long _just to give up the prank. Maybe Sora is in the on prank, and that's why he dared me over here. I swear to _God _I'll hang him if that's the case. And then I'll get him back mercilessly, by... well... I don't know, why it'll be really bad! And he'll be sorry! Ha, he will!

I smirk at the future plans of humiliating my cousin, but after a few more seconds of painful silence and boredom, I realize there's _nothing _to do. My eyes flip up to the television. I wonder if this house has some sort of cable. I'll kiss whoever ordered cable if they did. But enough of the "if"'s. I reach over and grab a perfectly burnt remote from the table. It looks real old,, as if this was the oldest piece of technology ever created on the face of the earth. Ha, that's not hard to imagine. I fingers graze over the power button and I press down.

At first I'm met with complete silence. The screen in front of me is still blacker than night. I stare at it expectantly, but still, nothing happens. I click it again. _Nothing happens_. "Fucking hell," I whisper to myself, giving the television such a hatred look that it might've busted the screen open. "Don't tell me it's _broken." _I continue to click the power button – clicking it at least over nine thousand times before finally getting aggravated enough to throw the damn thing across the room. What kind of remote _doesn't _turn on a TV? Maybe it's used for something... but there's no other remotes! Does it need batteries? ...Oh, of _course _I left all of my batteries at my house. Isn't today just great?

"_Oh look! He's alive!"_

I blink and look up. It's too dark in the room to see anything. I squint into the dark, feeling my heart in my chest pump faster and faster. I had to have imagined that voice... there's _no one_ else in the freakin' room!

"_He heard you."_

"_Can I go talk to him? Pleeeeeeeeeeeaseeee?"_

"_No. Xemnas doesn't want us speaking to humans." _

"_Heh, yeah..."_

"Who's there!" I shout, pulling myself up to my feet. My whole body is tensed up, and it doesn't help that I hear absolutely _nothing. _Just unnerving silence. It's _seriously _starting to haunt me. "I heard you! Come out!" Still, nothing happens. Nothing does happen for a good five minutes, and by then I'm calming down. Instead of fear, now, I'm filled with anger. How _dare _these stupid kids try to scare me! And then ignore me when I plainly heard them talk, as if they were in the next room. Wait... That's it! "Stubborn jackasses," I grumble, walking across the room with light steps and stand by the doorway of the kitchen. I flip the light switch on in a quick flash, and strangely enough, I _do _see someone standing not far from me, staring at me. All I caught was blonde, kind of sandy hair, and aqua blue eyes before the light bulb erupted in a strange cry and died. Confusion sweeps across me, and I can't even think of how stupid the lights in this house is, because all I'm thinking is, _Who the fuck was that_? I think their hair was spiked up, like a mullet. I have _never _seen anyone in Twilight Town have that sort of hair. Which means this person is completely new. Do they live here? Shit, if they _do _live here, that means _I'm _trespassing! They could call the cops! Damn it, damn it, damn it!

"I-I-" I cough awkwardly, knowing they're probably still watching me, maybe even _scared _of me. "I'm sorry, uh... person... I mean, y'know, this house didn't um... didn't look like it had any residents or anything..." _Smooth. _"N-Not that your house isn't great or anything! I mean..." _Okay, just shut up._ I decide my mind is right so I keep my mouth shut for a moment, and in that moment I hear absolutely nothing. Maybe I really _did _frighten this guy to death.

"I'm um... I'm going to leave now, so um-"

"_Wait!" _A hand grabs my arm and I yelp back, jumping far from the touch and staring into the dark. Very slowly, I mean, _excruciatingly _slow, I begin to see outlines of a figure. After another moment, a pair of light blue eyes – the ones I had seen not five minuets ago – glow into the dark. _Whoa..._

"_Don't go..." _This guy looks no older than me! I raise an eyebrow at him, but his eyes show sadness and urgency. _"I mean, well, please? I don't want to be alone..."_

"Er... what's your name?" I ask; my body still a bit tense. The boy seems to brighten up in less than a mili-second.

"_I'm Demyx! Zexion left, but we can go get him if you want! Oh, right, sorry, I totally forgot I don't even know your name!" _I blink at how fast he talks, and how strange he's not needing a breath in between sentences.

"I'm Roxas..."

"_Roxas? Oh, that's a nice name! Waiiiiitttt- you're the one that went the basement, right?" _He suddenly wraps his arms around me, causing me to startle and attempt to get out of his grasp. Despite how lanky he looks, he's pretty fucking strong. Not to mention he's _freezing_, as if he had just gotten out of a shower and didn't even care to dry off – just walked out into the cold house like an idiot, and now he's extremely freezing. Even his skin is a little blue. _"I was so worried about you! I mean, I've only seen a few people go down there, and only one has survived to come back up! ...And then that person hung herself..." _He sniffles, _"Poor Namine... B-But you're still alive! I wonder why Axel hasn't tried to kill you or anything. He doesn't like it when trespassers go down into his territory." _

"Who's Axel?" I squirm out of his arms and he reluctantly lets me go.

"_Axel... he's really mean. I mean, well, at first he was nice and a little sarcastic, but now... I don't even know anymore – he chases me off when I try to go check on him." _

"Right..." I rub the back of my neck, "so how long have you and this Axel live here?"

Demyx snorts, _"It's been so long – I think at least over a hundred years!" _

"Oh, really?" I laugh at him, laughing at how stupid he thinks I am. This is _proving_ that this is a silly prank. "Well, wouldn't you guys be, well, I dunno, _dead_?"

"_But we are dead!" _He gives me the most serious look, and it's really hard not to believe his story. But then logic catches up to me.

"The dead can't talk, or move, or say 'hello' to me!" I snap. "Stop playing around."

"_But I'm not!" _He has this weird desperate look on his face, _"A-And I'll prove it to you!"_

"Fine," _This has gotta be good. _I smirk coldly and watch him as he rubs the back of his neck and walks over to a rather large butcher knife. Oh, is he _actually _going to stab himself? I continue to watch him as he picks it up, and he looks real scared, as if this is the first time he's ever held a stainless steel knife. After a few seconds, he places the blade to his neck – catching my eyes with his. And then his hand moves. Horror takes over my expression as the knife easily slits his skin like butter; blood following after. Sick icky _pulp_s break the silence as blood pools around his feet. His eyes never leave mine, and once the knife has thoroughly cut his neck, he places the knife onto the counter, shivering slightly, as if it _had _affected him in some way.

Demyx still stands, staring at me with a depressed, victorious look. _"I told you," _He says, _"I'm dead."_

After a few seconds of choosing my words carefully, I finally speak, "...Did... Didn't that hurt?"

"_I will admit, it felt a little strange – hell, it always does. Besides that, no, not really." _

"..." I stay silent, just staring at the blood around his feet. My eyes travel up to his neck, and a gasp draws out of my mouth. His neck is perfectly clean. It looks as though he hadn't even cut his neck at all! Not even blood covers his skin, though his shirt is partially drenched with the red liquid. "I..."

"_Hah, don't worry about it – I guess it is a little too much to take in, seeing as you're just a human. Wanna come with me? I'm going to go find Zexion!" _A smile plants on his face. He looks so happy. If... Since he _is _dead... I wonder why he's so happy... wouldn't he be suffering if he was forced to live here for a hundred years...?

Despite my thoughts, a small smile reaches my lips, "Sure."

* * *

**A/N: ._. I feel so horrible. It's been _weeks _I last updated! I've had the writers' block of the century, guys! Strangely enough, I couldn't work on this story, nor on We Sleep Forever, but I began writing this one-shot that should be out in less than a week, and the weird thing is - I have _no _problem writing it. It's like my mind shut down on these two stories. Sucks, huh? **

**...ANDDDDDD We're back to no Axel! D: I promise more Axel in the next chapter - I swear on it! And I also swear the next chapter will be longer than this short crap. :D **

**Reviews are the screen to my laptop~  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_I want him. Roxas. His name is Roxas. He's _mine_. After dealing with that thick-headed mullet kid, the boy escaped. He _escaped_! I won't allow that mistake to happen again. When he's in my clutches, he'll _never _leave me again. He's mine. His body; soul; heart, all for _me _to taint with darkness. Roxas is mine. And soon..._

_Soon he'll want me to be his._

_~~1903138~~_

I... don't even know. Millions of questions – not to mention a few profanities roaming around – buzzed through my mind. That was thirty minutes ago. The last ten minutes, I had just decided to let this dirty-blonde do whatever he pleases. If I lead this party, we're going to get even more lost. Yet, at the same time, Demyx seems pretty damn determinded to get us more isolated from all sign of life by morning.

"I think I know where we are!" Demyx snaps after my upteeth time trying to help him. "I've lived here for more than a century, thank you very much!"

"Fine, fine, just trying to help," I raise my hands, but he doesn't see them because he's gone back to walking down this creepy hallway that I can _barely _see. I asked him earlier how in the seven hells he could see in all this blackness, when I couldn't see anything out of ten feet. He laughed and shrugged, saying something about the "ghosts" here not needing any sort of lighting. "Th-There's _more_?" I had said, almost gasping from the thought of millions of ghosts living in this house. Demyx had laughed a little more and rolled his eyes, but he didn't comment.

Ten minutes later, here we are. I sigh in defeat and drag my feet after Demyx. He walks so quick, despite being, well, dead.

"There it is!" I jump slightly and shoot my head up to where Demyx is rushing towards. Being the blind one, I can't see much ahead, and seconds later Demyx disappears in the darkness.

"Demyx!" I hiss, creeping down the hallway with a disturbed feeling in the pit of my stomach. It feels like shadows are watching me, staring at me with a rapist smile. Oh, God, now I'm thinking of that thing, "Axel", again. Isn't it bad enough I'm in a black hallway without having to think of that stupid "ghostie"?

"Over here, Roxas!"

My hand reaches out and my fingers brush against the wooden walls. Holding onto the walls for dear life, I stumble further down the hallway until I manage to see two glowing blue orbs. "Demyx!" I snap, "Why the hell'd you leave me back there?"

"Sorry, I forgot, you're only human," He chuckles sheepishly and I feel his huge oaf hand clamp down onto my hair and ruffle it up. Scowling, I slap his hand away.

"I could've died back there!"

"You wouldn't have died. If anything, Xigbar might've came to greet you, but you wouldn't have died," Before I can even ask Demyx what he's talking about, and who Xigbar is, I hear his knuckles slam against something hollow. "Zexion...! Lemme in, please...?"

"Zexion?" I muse to myself. Demyx was talking about him earlier, I think. His best friend? I open my mouth to say something to the blonde, but before I can let out a single noise, a strange hiss fills the air. A door opens next to me, but before I can get into the room too, it slams shut. As my brain registers the fact that I'm most likely alone now, and it's getting unnaturally cold, I stare into the blackness with big, round eyes.

"Demyx?" I whisper. No answer. My heart begins pounding against my chest as I reach out and my fingers curl around the doorknob. With one, two, three tugs, it finally hits me that Demyx went into the room, and he _locked _it. My eyes narrow. "D-Demyx, let me in! This isn't funny!" The silence becomes more and more intense. I shiver and begin to knocking on the door. "Le-Let me-" I freeze. In the corner of my eye, I catch dark yellow eyes. Blinking a little, I turn my head to the direction, and true enough, two yellow orbs stare at me from down the hall. "Umm.." the feeling in my gut is screaming at me to get the hell out of the hallway. Another part of me – the half that controls my body movement – is perfectly frozen in fear.

"_Human." _hisses the voice.

The orbs grow and grow and after a moment of staring, it dawns on me that this... _thing _is _snarling _and chasing me down the hallway.

"Whoa, shit!" I cry out; slamming back into the wall across the hall as the thing hits the walls where I had been standing. It growls and the noises it makes sounds as though it's chewing up wood. In a state of panic, I get a good five feet away from the animal before making a run for it; hearing my feet slap against the wooden floors in my ears. It isn't comforting, and neither is the sound of growls echoing through the hollow corridors right behind me. I pick up my pace and race through unknown floors, but slowly – very slowly – things begin to get familiar. There's that half-burnt painting of a heart! Past that should be... Yeah! The three aligned doors, all with Roman Numerals etched into each. **III, V, VII **are the numbers.

I rush past them and, with eyes growing wide, I attempt to skid to a stop. It doesn't work, and I land nose-first against the wall, before stumbling back and falling on my ass.

"Ugh... ngh, crap..." I mumble, pressing a soft finger to my nose. I wince in pain and pull my index finger back, enough to see it covered with a little blood. "Fuck..."

"_Got you now." _

Goosebumps rise all over my skin and peek around, only to feel a scream crawl up my throat. All I can really make out is a blood-red, scratchy "X" on a figure's face, along with golden eyes, but honestly, that's all I _want _to make out. The scream does manage to escape my lips and, not even caring for my nose anymore, jump up to my feet with a sharp movement. A dull thudding in my head responds to the action, but I ignore it and look up at the animal. I think it's smiling.

"Another heart to take,"The animal comments, though now I consider it might be a human. Then again, that thing was _snarling._ It can't be human.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" My eyes search the area for any places to escape. At the same time, I'm trying desperately not to back away into a corner, but the more the animal walks towards me, the further I reach the corner in the back. Finally, my vision locks onto a hallway to my right. I think I see a staircase. This house is only a two-story home, so all I need to do is run down that hallway, go down the stairs, and run to the front door. Then I'll be out of this godforsaken nightmare, and I can camp with some hobos until morning. It's a flawless plan.

"Stupid mortals – you understand nothing! Why must humans attempt to meddle with matters such as discovering if 'spirits' exist or going through unknown territories with no others around?" I think he's musing to himself now, but his eyes never leave mine. I inch towards the corridor leading to freedom, and when my eyes flicker towards the staircase, I know I've made a terrible mistake.

"...Fleeing, human?" The animal scoffs without humor and stalks towards me faster than before. Almost fast enough to be called running, but he looks extremely calm. I spin to the hallway and race down the wooden path, ignoring the blood running freely from my nose. Some of it slips into my mouth, yet I don't bother to wipe it away because that would only slow me down. I dart down the stairs, but fuck my balance. Before I know it, my foot gets caught behind my leg and I tumble down the rest of the steps – ending with a painful hit on the upper back on the very bottom floor. Tears of pain sting at my eyes, however, I manage to keep my cheeks try.

"Hmph. Serves you right, human." I squint up and feel my heart let out a sudden jolt. The animal that appeared in front of me in seconds is no animal. He _is _human too. He's got the body of a tall, built male, but the strange thing is his hair is a deep fluorescence of blue. The hair is styled a little more different than I've ever seen before, but that doesn't really catch my eye at much. The feature I can't seem to tear my eyes away from are the vibrating golden eyes. Almost like they're holding me captive in their stare.

Blood swirls around my tongue. I know I've at least bitten the muscle twice on the way down. Leaning over on my side, I spit out blood and notice the man giving me a rather disgusted look.

"If we're done with this cat-and-mouse game, I'd be so happy to kill you now." The words cause the hair on the back of my neck to stand. Pain erupts through my whole body as I lift myself up onto my elbows and begin crawling away from the man. Even with all my will, I know I'm too slow, but the man seems amused that I'm still trying to escape from him. I notice the flooring has changed to tile, so I must be in the kitchen. There's a bathroom close by – maybe a lock is on the door- _No, no, _I can't stand up, more or less slam a door in the being's face. "Give _up_, kid."says the being, looking more and more annoyed by the second. No, I'm not. Where the hell is Demyx? Why did he leave me with this thing? Is that what friends are for?

Something catches the man's eyes, and when I look up, he's not looking at me. No, he's staring at something behind me. His lips are tightened and firmed into a line on his pale features, though his eyes show no emotion. A breeze of warm arm wraps around my body, and for a few seconds, I consider just closing my eyes and drifting off. What doesn't allow me to do that is my back – screaming and whining at the ache biting my bones. I look back up at the man, only to realize he's taken a few steps back, and he's growling to himself.

"You fucking bastard..." The man hisses. I turn my head – despite my neck's injury – and there, right there, is that basement door – wide open and inviting me with warm again, contradicting the freezing air outside in the kitchen. My mind urges me to go into the basement and rest there. My heart, on the other hand, is shaky and scared; it's telling me I shouldn't even _be _here. I know it's right, but I can't go back in time.

Taking a deep breath, I haul myself closer to the door, and the man a few feet away hisses in protest.

"Show yourself, Axel. I'm sure that brat and I would both like to see the real you."

Axel? Demyx mentioned him... he told me this Axel guy lived down here. He was the _only _one that lived down here. I lick my dry lips, knowing full well that I'm going closer and closer to a little ghostie that had tried to rape me. But if it protects me from being skinned alive, I'm all for it. When my body is at least on the top step, and practically in the room, the door swings around and shuts in front of me.

The last thing I heard were the locks clicking in place.

_~~1908138~~_

My head beats angrily in my mind. A small whimper escapes my lips and I twist around in my sleep. The blankets, I think, are circling around my hips. A light presses against my eyelids, and I squeeze them shut. My wrists tug down absentmindedly to retrive the covers, only to feel something tug them back. A moan of protest breaks through and I pull my wrists back harder. I don't think I'm pulling very hard at all, but it's a worth a shot.

After a few more seconds, I let my eyes flutter open. In seconds I resented that action, because blinding light is practically hovering over my eyes.

"F...Fuck..." I mumble sleepily, never ceasing my pulls on whatever is restraining me from grabbing that warm blanket. I turn my head to a more shadowed part of the bed before opening my eyes again. The first thing I notice is ashy, black lamp. It doesn't even have a cord to it, though I think I spy a small opening on the side of it, where a cord was supposed to connect to. After studying that for a few more seconds, my vision travels up to my wrists. Ice-cold handcuffs wrap around my wrists and lock onto a bedpost. Confusion sweeps over my face. What the fuck? Where am I?

Out of nowhere, something cold dabs against my upper lip. I startle and immediately jerk my head back – whimpering in pain – and stare up at a being sitting on the bed.

The man before me smirks. _"Morning, blondie."_ ...Where have I heard that voice? It sounds so familiar, but I _can't _put a finger on it. I scowl up at the man.

"What's... going on? Why am I locked up to a bed...?" Even with alarm rushing through my veins, hot air clouds up most of my thoughts. All I can really think about is going back to sleep. Yeah... sleep sounds excellent right about now...

"_So you don't escape." _was his only answer. My eyebrows furrow and I raise my head a little – looking at the man more closely.

Acid green eyes. Almost poisonous, in my opinion. They stare deep into my eyes, but they hold a playful, "I-know-something-you-don't" glint. The red spikes for his hair catch my attention next, but they don't hold my gaze for long because I'm suddenly giving his slender fingers an intense stare as they hold onto a wet cotton and dab my upper lip again. My nerves are frazzeled with this man I don't even know being close to me. For some reason, I'm seriously wanting to push him away and get out of this room... basement room, I think?

After a few more seconds, he flicks the cotton ball over to a small green trash can next to the nightstand. He takes a dry cotton ball now and I wince when his hand cups the side of my face and forces me to look up at him while he's cleaning the blood from my face.

"Who're you...?" I finally have the nerve to ask him that question, but now that it's out, I almost feel a little stupid for asking. The man laughs a little.

That laughter...

..._Fuck. _Fuck. No. This... I...

My eyes widen tremendously as the man throws another cotton ball away and tosses the pack of white fluff-balls to the side. His smirk widens in almost a disturbing way. _"Glad you asked. The name's Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" _

Shivers run down my spine as his fingers start to dance on my chest. His skin warm – almost hot. Knowing I'll probably sputter over my own words if I even _dare _speak, I merely nod.

"_Good. You're a quick learner. Now that you know my name..." _He leans down and breathes against my ear, _"don't go off and scream another name." _

I blink owlishly up at Axel, and he's staring down at me. Within seconds, he ripped my shirt into shreds and climbed on top of me – forcing his lips onto my my own. It feels like the fire from the depths of hell is pressing against my lips, which cause me to gasp a little from the pain. It gives the man above me the perfect oppintunity to shove his tongue through my parted lips. While that is happening, one of his hands press against my upperback and apply pressure, little by little, causing torterous pain to ease into my body. His free hand is holding my face so I can't jerk away from him. Little whimpers flee from my mouth.

The clanking from the handcuffs mirror around the room as I fight terribly against the steel and chains. The only response I get from the redhead is a muffled groan into my mouth, and the hand that had been torturing me on my back moving downwards to my jeans. Anger boils my blood and I fidget my body around while kicking my legs – aiming for that special spot that'll send this idiot off of me in pain. Just as I direct my knee in the right place, Axel pulls away from the kiss and laughs in a harsh way before disappearing right before my eyes.

The room is silent now, and an aroused member that had started not too long ago throbs against my thigh. It's stronger now, and much more irritating. I close my eyes and attempt to force the strange lust that has been hiding inside of my mind to disappear. It only seems to grow with the pain of being neglected and needy. I bite my lip hard enough to taste blood and twist my body a little – enough to rub my legs together by accident. The friction causes a soft moan to escape my lips.

"Sh-Shit..." I whimper, finding myself rubbing more and more. It feels great, but it's not enough. The last thing I want to do is let this boner grow, especially with the thought of being left alone in this room while _handcuffed_, but this all I _can _do. Humiliation shadows over me as I hear a soft, cold laugh somewhere in the room.

"_Oh, Roxas, I think you've found yourself in quite a mess, haven't you?" _Axel teases, but I can't see him anywhere in the room.

"Sh-Shut up!" I snarl. I force my legs to stay still, but the neglect to my arousal is too much, and I began shifting my hips around while causing sweet friction. And still, it's not enough.

"_Well, I can help you with your problem,"_ the button off my jeans pop off and the zipper flies down, _"but you gotta say two little words." _

I scoff and shake my head, but my eyes widen as my pants are tugged away and my legs become exposed to the heat. It's almost making me dizzy – everything making me so hot. Maybe I could fall asleep right then, but I doubt I'll be able to sleep long. Maybe I'll have a stupid wet dream. Sora used to have them all the time – he told me about it when I had threatened to tell Riku that Sora loved him. We were only thirteen, I think. Ah, fun times...

"No." I growl, but my growl turns into an unexpected purr as, I assume, his fingers start trailing over my member. Even with the thin cloth seperating our skin from touching, the mere feel is enough to drive me insane.

"_Two little words and this problem could go away," _Axel says. His tone proves he's enjoying this very much, which only embarrasses me even further.

"I-I don't know what words you're talking about," I breathe, knowing full well what sort of words he might like to hear. Maybe along the lines of "fuck" and "me".

"_Don't lie." _I let out a shrill cry as his hand suddenly grabs my member and squeezes it. It hurts so much... and it feels _so _good. After a few more seconds of kneadling me, he suddenly lets me go. A groan escapes my throat before I can stop it and my glare around the room averts to the ashy lamp again. My hips are suddenly held up into the air, and my boxers peel off of my skin as if it were a second layer of flesh. Instead of my waist being placed back down on the bed, I feel one of his hands grab my ass while his other hand holds my member.

"A-Ahh!" I moan; squeezing my eyes shut from the intense pleasure. Not to mention pain. As he had held my hips, his palm had pressed against what feels like a pretty deep bruise. Not that I didn't like it.

"_Two little words and all of this teasing could be put behind us, and we could go up a whole new level." _He sounds so tempting. My mind is screaming _no_, but my body is begging _yes_. So far, my body is winning this war.

"Ngh... n-no..."

And then I lose it. I feel something wet lick the tip of my weeping member, and I'm done for it.

"G-God..." I cry out. I hear him snicker, but my mind can't really comprehend what's happening in the background, but more or less on what he's doing to me.

"_I'm waiting." _He states and blows softly against the tender skin.

"G-Gah, fuck me!" I whimper. In less than a second, a warm, wet cavern takes me all. I pant and mewl, but it takes a lot in me not to scream. Axel plays with me with his tongue while he bobs his head up and down – placing my hips back down onto the bed and pinning them there. I squirm under his hands, feeling a strange need to thrust up into the heat.

My wrists tug at the handcuffs again, because I _seriously _need to grab onto something. Teeth graze over the sensitive skin, causing a sharp gasp to escape my lips. My fingers wrap around the chains connecting the handcuffs to the bedpost and I squeeze onto them tightly. Still not being able to see him, I try to imagine what he'd look like doing this, which only seems to make my climax come even faster.

"I-I-" I can't get the words out, but I think Axel knows. I'm not sure why.

He nibbles on the tip in almost a harsh, painful way, but it's immediately drowned by pleasure as I cum into his mouth, screaming his name in the same second.

I think he swallowed, but I'm not sure because, well I didn't hear nor see anything. The heat vanishes from me, and I loll my head against the pillows in a way that just screams that I'm totally spent. It's silent in the room, and for a few seconds, I actually begin to panic from the idea that I might fall asleep with these handcuffs still hugging my bony wrists, but my worries are put to rest as I feel a weight next to me on the bed and something fiddling at my wrists. Once both of my arms are free from the restraints, I put them at my side and breathe in a pained groan. My arms are sore.

Soon after, I loll away to darkness.

* * *

**A/N: Phew! This was a real ass to write. D:**

**I'm sorry to all my readers who had to wait even more for this chapter! On the brighter side, I finally gave you some action ;D **

_**Fun Fact: **_**I spent half of this chapter listening to Still Alive by GLaDos (Portal) and the second half listening to So Fierce and Prisoner by Jeffree Star. That would explain the random emotions from poor lil' Roxy :DD**

**Reviews are the truth to my cake. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_3:14AM._

"_Roxass...! Hmph, you're still asleep, huh? I got my phone back from Riku and he said you had called. Well, whatever you were calling about, I guess it can wait till morning, huh? Call me back, but please not before noon! Love ya, cous'."_

_6:23AM._

"_Hello? Roxas? Why'd you call me and just randomly hang up without saying anything? C'mon, you woke me up! Ugh, you're in a pissy mood again, aren't you? Well annoy me some other time, I- what's that, Riku? Shut up! Anyway, I'll call you later, Roxas. See ya."_

_8:54AM._

"_Answer the phone! C'mon, Rox... Fine, whatever. I'm going out to breakfast with Riku. I _would've _asked if you wanted anything from McDonalds, but you're being a sour puss and not answering. ...Hmph, maybe you really are still asleep. Of course you are – little Rox _always _sleeps till noon. Alright, I'll talk to you later!"_

_12:42PM._

"_Roxas! I just realized something! You only took two little pies to that house, didn't you? You must be starving! Hah, that'd be a hoot if you were already dead. Well, I'm gonna drop by in the evening and give you a basket of food. Ham and turkey, right? ...Oh, c'mon, Roxas! I know you're pissed at me, but really? Actually waiting off this 'cold shoulder' thing you always do? Hell, I don't even know what I did! Ugh, whatever, Roxy. I'll be over in a few hours. You better answer the door!"_

_5:58PM._

"_Not answering the phone again, huh Rox? Hm. Well, I'm coming over now. Riku was being a real ass and telling me not to waste my time trying to call you, but I love you enough to waste my minutes talking in a recording device! Yeah, feel the love, man. Haha, anyway you better as hell answer that door. See ya in a few minutes, cous'!"_

Sora shuts his phone and tightens his grip on the basket handle. The sun outside begins to set and he wonders briefly if maybe he should've done this earlier. Then again, he and Riku were in rather _quite _a predicament when the stupid silverette began getting "friendly". Sora laughs a little to himself, thinking of how lucky he is to be with boyfriend. "I wonder if Roxas will ever be in a relationship." Sora muses to himself. He pulls himself to his feet and slips the phone into his pocket.

"Wonder why he's pissed," Sora says to himself. "Seriously, I mean, I didn't do anything wrong... did I?" While wondering this, the brunette lets his feet carry himself out of the house and down the sidewalk to the house next over. The sun now lie behind the trees, almost as if peeking up to stalk him. He looks down and sees the light caused his shadow to appear beside him. _Ugh, shadows, _he thinks, glaring at the shadow that mirrored his every action. Some people told him that if he and Roxas had both stood beside each other, their shadows would match exactly. It seems strange. He doesn't believe them, but maybe later on he would try and see if it were true.

The shadow narrows and grows longer. Sora blinks and remembers his dream from the other night, where he had been standing in a ginormous room and he had been standing on a surface, but the surface looked as though it were made of glass and... and Roxas was painted on the glass. It was really a nice picture, Sora thinks, _really _nice. But the shadow casting from Sora had grown to be bigger than two mansions put together. And it tried to kill him.

"Ugh, snap out of it," The brunette mumbles to himself, giving himself a soft slap on the cheek to wake up. He didn't want to be daydreaming right in the middle of dusk. Sighing to himself, Sora takes a few steps up the porch and almost immediately notes the floorboards squeaking in protest under his shoes. He frowns to himself. _I'm not getting fat, am I! _Another worry to think about. School, his cousin, Riku's disturbing habit of getting into fights every five seconds – now weight! _This is too much for a sixteen year old._

"Roxassss!" He pounds his fist against the door, but after few minutes, the door remains shut. Sora grimaces. "C'mon, Roxas! I brought food!" He eyes the doorbell and decides it's worth a shot. As his finger presses into the old black button, he can hear the _ding dong's_ of the bell chiming through the house. The sun is about to disappear. Everything in the area proves to have shadows much larger than before. But now... now they look as though they've grown because of the music. Sora bites his lip nervously. A cold gust of wind greets his skin, and he shivers. Goosebumps rise on his tanned arms.

"C'mon, Roxas, open the door! It's getting cold out..."

Sora sighs. Still, no answer. He might as well drop the basket out on the porch and leave. The brunette stands for a few more seconds, before dipping down to put the basket safely on the wood. Just as he lets go of the wooden handle, though, the sound of locks meet his hears, and his eyes wander upward to the front door slipping open. The rooms, as far as Sora can see, is completely black. _Ugh, same old Roxas – emo as always. _Sora grins a little.

"Heya, Roxas! I thought you'd let me suffer out here," The brunette laughs and picks the basket back up. Since the blonde wasn't there to greet him, Sora decides maybe he's behind the door and wants to scare him. Of _course_ Roxas would do that. Not being the one to disappoint, the cousin strides into the small hallway leading to the living room. One step into the living room, only to realize the shadow that had been casted into the room from the disappearing sunlight had now grown to cover the whole room. Another second later, he hears the locks on the door re-lock themselves.

"Uh...Roxas?" Sora says weakly, looking back. Even in the darkness, he doesn't see an outline of his cousin anywhere. "Roxas, where are you?"

The house remains as silent as when he stood outside the door. Something in his gut screamed at him to get the fuck out of the house before something happened. He drops the basket onto the floor and spins around – ready to run out of the house screaming, but something suddenly caught his eye. In the flash, Sora could only think of it as a flashlight. A _blue _flashlight, maybe. But what kind of bulb shines blue? The brunette did remember those cheap, colored bulbs at the one-dollar store, but he didn't really think a house this old would have a bulb that new and crappy.

Struck by curiosity, Sora twists back around and sees the illuminating light had dimmed. It gleams on the staircase, begging to be checked. Sora bites his lip and takes a step towards the light, only to feel something vibrate his ass. Startled, the cousin lets out a rather small, childish squeak and jumps against the love seat. Another vibration in his ass. His eyebrows furrow and he reaches into his pocket...

...and pulles out his cell phone.

A nervous laugh escapes the brunette's lips and he presses a button to re-brighten the screen.

_Two missed calls._

_Tuesday, November 18th,_

_6:08PM._

_Roxas Zachery_

Confusion etches itself onto Sora's face. He didn't have those two calls before he came to this house. Sora cancels the message on the phone, proving the time to be **6:09PM**.

"Wh...What the fuck...?" The cousin almost closes his phone again, but the screen re-brightens.

_Call from..._

_Roxas Zachery_

About the same time his phone brightened, Sora realizes, the light on the staircase beamed proudly again. Some sort of shaken fear injects itself into Sora as he walks closer to the light. He notices almost immediately there's some sort of liquid spilt on the last two steps and some footprints too big for Roxas's feet. A shiver tails itself down Sora's spine and he tries hard not to think too much about it. Instead, he climbs up the staircase – avoiding all "mystery" liquid – and picks up the device on the middle stair.

"Roxas's phone..." Sora breathes. His own phone announces that he has missed yet another call. The brunette watches as his cousin's phone dims for a few seconds, but blinks back to life by itself. At its own will, the phone goes to contacts and picks Sora's phone number. Then it clicks onto "Send Message". He watches in horror as the phone texts itself.

_**I see you.**_

_Message has been sent._

* * *

**A/N: Random, bonus, short chapter! :DD Guys, I love you so much. 50 reviews! (Well, 56, actually :3) I actually started crying (honest-to-God I did) when I saw I had more than 50 reviews on this story. I never though it'd be this popular (considering this is my first story _ever _to have more than thirty reviews in less than five chapters). Anyway, to give thanks, I updated early. And I'm still updating on Saturday - don't worry! (:**

**Reviews are the blood to my heart~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"_When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we'll see," _

Irritation gnaws at my sleepy mind. I peek an eye open into the shadowed room, but nothing partically stands out.

"_No I won't be afraid, oh I won't be afraid, just as long as you stand, stand by me," _

Why do I know this song so well? I've never heard this voice or music before, and yet it feels so familiar to me, as if I've listened to the track a million times. I bite my lip with a weak tug and manage to open my other eye. Everything is a blur. Half of me considers just lying back down in the mass of blankets and sheets and forgetting the world, but now that my mind is becoming more and more alarmed, I'm beginning to remember everything from last night... or earlier today... whatever time it is.

"_So darling, darling, stand by me, oh, stand by me, oh stand, stand by me, stand by me," _

The music is set low, barely heard from my movements on the bed as I pull myself up into a sitting position. The sheets stick onto my skin like glue, though it doesn't surprise me much. It feels like an oven in this room, and trust me, I'm not exaggerating.

Everything has a strange, orange glow to it. Shadows creep into the room, threatening to touch everything with darkness soon. My gaze shifts to the miniature window off in the far corner. The once blue sky has turned to a pale gray, but I have a suspicion that that's just the clouds roaming around.

"_If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall, or the mountains should crumble to the sea," _

Who is singing that? I inspect the room from where I'm sitting, but... there's no radio. No music player, no nothing. The music sounds as though it's coming from the middle of the room, and yet the only thing placed in the middle of the room is a rather burnt, dirtied rug. Confusion that etched my face fades away into a tired glare. Too many mysteries in this godforsaken old house. I want to get out of this area, go back to my room, maybe grab a slice or two of pizza, and soon play against Hayner in one of the small struggle matches we hold at his house. ...Maybe three slices of pizza... damn, I'm really hungry. My stomach growls with want at the thought of a huge, extra-filling pepperoni and sausage pizza, with cheese practically dripping off the edges and steam rising from the well-toned bread, not to mention how the spices and sauce will heat up every part of my mouth, and the cheese sweet-talking my tongue...

A long, noisy snarl escapes my tummy. I blush a little at the very fact that said snarl had echoed off the walls, covering over the music for more than three seconds.

"_...just as long as you stand, stand by me, and darling, darling, stand by me. Oh, stand by me, whoa stand now, stand by me."_

I wouldn't mind standing by some pizza right now.

I think I still have a few little Zebra Cakes in my bag... What's that smell? It smells like ham... and turkey? God, that's my favorite.. the smell is coming from upstairs. I turn my head to the staircase leading up to the kitchen. Half of me wonders if that ghostie, Axel, is still here. Another part of me doesn't really give a shit, and really wants some food in my empty stomach. I think I like that other part.

Pulling myself on shaky feet, my face contorts into a dark scowl. No clothes. Where am I going to find clothes? The dresser is the first thing that crosses my mind. I think I better hurry... I can feel eyes on me. It's unnerving. Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I walk over to one of the dressers and tug at the drawer. It's hesitant, but finally it opens to reveal burnt fabrics. A frown creases on my face. Of _course _everything is burnt – what am I expecting? Clean, fresh clothes in a burnt-down house with no visitors since the 1940's?

The smell from upstairs is causing me to be more dizzy than I thought. My head spins and I have to hold onto the edge of the dresser to keep from falling. How long has it been since I've last touched food? I can't think straight. A painful clench in my stomach pulls me back into reality, and after a few more seconds, my head clears up.

"_And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me, oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me-"_

A screech fills the room, followed by silence. I blink, fear locking my body in place. The explanation for lack of sound is either from my ears finally dying and wilting off of my head, or that stupid, no-good, dirty-rotten, asshole of a-

"_Nice view, blondie."_

-ghost.

I twist my head around and see that redheaded spirit on the bed, lying on his stomach and eye-raping me. He licks his lips. I bite my lip.

"Shut up." I growl, "Where's my clothes?" he opens his mouth to say something, but before I can stop myself, I add a little side note, "and stop calling me that!"

"_Calling you what? Blondie? Hah, the day I listen to a disgusting mortal like you will be the day I am returned of my heart." _What in the hell is this crazy ghost talking about? _"And in all due respect, has your memory been tampered with? _I _surely remember ripping your clothes to shreds." _

Well, isn't he such a rude little prick? I glare, but it wavers with my stomach clenching down and reminding me of the food upstairs. He notices this and a smirk poses itself onto his lips, heaving his body off of the bed and taking sly steps towards me. I give him a warning growl, to stay away, while matching his pace, backing off and eventually feeling the knobs of the dresser pressing tight against my back. Axel stands in front of me now, pressing his warm hands onto my bare shoulders and forcing my back even farther into the knobs. I grit my teeth, feeling the steel practically butt-heads with my spine.

"Get me my clothes upstairs," I snap, scowling up at the man's face. He raises a short eyebrow.

"_When did I start taking orders from you?"_

"Get. Me. My. Clothes."

A sudden grind from his hips against my own causes a gasp of pleasure to betray me. He doesn't even pull back, but instead presses his knee against my crotch, rubbing lightly. The friction feels amazing, but I try desperately to keep a straight, disgusted face on. It did work... for a few seconds. I think it began to waver when he pressed his lips against my ear and began nibbling on the skin. _"Will you punish me if I don't?"_ He purrs into my ear. Next thing I know, my arms are locked around his neck to keep from falling. Damn legs, weakening on me when I need them the most.

"Sh-Shut up," I breathe, trying to control myself and gather composure. Axel doesn't seem to like this, because he doesn't even let me have a second before pressing his lips in a hungry way against my own, as fast as a lion would attack its prey. My muffled protests are ignored as I place both hands on either side of his shoulders and attempt to pry him off. It only forces him to move forward into me.

Shifting a little, I manage to free my back from the dresser knob, but my back strikes into the wood. I'm pretty sure the bruise on my back has darkened from this abuse.

"St-Stop!" I hiss, freeing my lips and wrapping my fingers around his skinny little neck. If it weren't for another grind of his hips, I would've surely strangled him.

"_This time I'm going to-"_

"Axel...? Axel, are you down there!" Both of us pause at the sound. The voice sounds familiar, and yet I can't quiet put a finger on it. Axel glances over at me, and as we meet eyes, he gives me a look that would kill if he could get the chance.

"_Stay quiet," _He hisses, _"or else." _his lips curl back and I feel my face lose all its color. The redhead's teeth are more like wolverine fangs – white, shiny, and _extremely _sharp. Axel then looks over his shoulder, paying no mind to me anymore. _"Stay away, Demyx!" _Demyx! I remember the blondie.

"Axel, do you remember this little boy, a bit shorter than Zexion, um... I think he had blue eyes... was it green eyes? No, no, definitely blue, um-"

"_Must've been killed by Saix. Now stop bothering me, you idiot." _

Demyx is looking for me? I bite my lip. If I call for Demyx, he can come down and save me from this monster. If I listen to Axel's orders, Demyx will soon leave and I'll be screwed. And there's always the possibility of Demyx _not _being able to come down, and I'll be screwed twice as hard.

"Oh, alright... well, I guess-"

"_D-Demyx!" _I scream, my mind not quite catching up to my actions. The air seems to get thick and hot, almost like flames burning my skin. It seems most painful on my back, where Axel's hands lay. A whimper escapes my lips as I fight against the redhead, who turned back to me with a look of death.

"Roxas? Roxas, you're down there! Don't worry, little buddy, I'm coming down there!" I hear something pounding against the door, and the doorknob being messed with, but I can do nothing. The man towering over me looks ready to rip my limbs apart, ever so slowly. I bite my lip, fear locking me in place as Axel grabs a handful of my hair and jerks my head up. The sudden movement causes a startled cry to leave my lips, but the slight pain is nothing compared to those monster-like teeth sinking into my skin. I scream, feeling his warm lips against the my neck, but also feeling my own blood seeping out between his teeth and my skin, falling into his mouth.

"R-Rox- ah, shit! A-Axel, stop it!" I squint to see a blurred being of Demyx rushing over to pry the redhead off of me. I also see another figure, a smaller one, but I can't see what they're doing.

To my dismay, instead of feeling the body above mine heave off, the pain turns white-hot. My voice is hoarse already, but it's not like I can utter a sound now. It hurts to even breathe. His fingernails dig into my arm and back, trapping me and not letting me scoot an inch. What was only a few seconds felt like eternity, and finally, his teeth retreat and I can barely feel his lips press against the blood and skin. It's too numb there for me to even begin to think of what he's doing now.

"I said _off_!" With a final word and tug from Demyx, I feel the demon pull back and step a few paces away from me. I stumble onto my knees, my hand reaching up. Blood stains my fingers, but it makes me more sick feeling the empty holes engraved in my flesh. I can almost slip my pinkie into one of the holes, but just the thought spins my head.

"Roxas? Shit, we have to-"

"_Leave him alone." _Axel's voice booms in my ears. I place both of my hands over my ears, squeezing my eyes shut. He's too loud. Cold, moist hands grab onto my sides, and yet I can do nothing but let myself be dragged upwards. _"I will **not **let you take him away!" _I can feel the vibrations of something breaking in the room, but I can't bring myself to open my eyes. Another pair of hands wrap around me, but they're much smaller. My feet drag helplessly up the stairs as sweat and blood trail down my chest. It feels like it's over a hundred degrees. No, that's an understatement. It feels as though it's as hot as the sun in the room.

I peek my eyes open a little.

Everything is a big mush of red, yellow, blue, and black. Smoke fills my lungs. I cough violently, my lungs aching with every breath I take.

As if finally getting a break, a blast of cool air hits my skin. My feet are no longer going up the steps, but I think they're sliding on tile.

"Demyx!" My body is rested down upon the floor, and in my hazy vision, I can see lilac hair attached to a head. The being owning the hair is sprinting towards the basement door. It takes me a moment to realize we're in the kitchen.

I watch as the person that had brought me into the kitchen disappears down in the basement again. The smell of food overwhelms me. My stomach lurches violently, and the only thing I can manage to do is pull myself up on my elbow and empty the non-existent contents of my stomach on the floor. Cold sweat covers my face as I pull back, shakily wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and scooting towards the counters. I don't even get that far before sleep takes over my body.

_~~~1908138~~~_

A horrid taste in my mouth brings my senses together. With my eyes closed, I can hear the ticking of the clock. Something warm and scratchy is covering my from shoulders to toes, but what I'm lying on feels like a cloud, or at least a water bed. The smell of ham and turkey fills my nostrils, but the stinging in my neck covers up the hidden need for a taste. After a few more minutes, I open my eyes.

The room is far from what I expected. Dark, burnt blue carpets cover the flooring, along with faded sky-blue walls. Pictures of guitarists and bands hung upon the walls, either in horrible shape or half-eaten from the fire. A distant smell of smoke lingers to the pillow my head lied upon, and right next to the bed I found myself in, was a basket with a thin red napkin covering the food I could so obviously see.

Drool is already beginning to gather in my mouth as I reach over with shaky hands and grab a hold of the handle basket. It feels heavier than I knew it should be, but my mind dismisses the thought. I pull back the napkin and practically die right there. So much food... where did it come from? More importantly, why aren't I digging in already?

From the first bite to the last, I feel my mood lift tremendously. Smiling until it hurts, I rub my happy stomach, staring at the window right next to the bed. The blinds look dusty, but new. It's strange to see something so crisp, in a house full of broken, testy items. Pulling the blinds back a little, I hiss a little to myself, my arm rising up to shield my eyes from the sun rays. Once my eyes do get used to the light, I squint out and find myself staring at Riku knocking on my door, standing on the porch, pacing a little. He looks annoyed. I smirk to myself. Stupid silverette. I hope Sora ignores him.

At that very moment, blue-green eyes meet my own. I narrow my eyes, inside feeling startled and surprised that I'm not shying away from the window. Riku narrows his eyes at well and crosses his arms over his chest. My front door opens, and I can see the silhouette of my mother standing at the door. Mom... I smile a little. I miss seeing and talking to my mom, even if she nagged me to no end. Isn't that what mom's are supposed to do?

It shocks me to see Riku walking away from my house after my mom closed the door. Where's Sora? Is he sick? No, Riku would've been able to visit my cousin. He _would've _taken the chance if he could. Riku gives me one last glance, his middle finger directed at me. I scoff to myself, returning the gesture.

"...Who's he?"

A rather small squeak escapes my lips as I snap my head to my right, seeing Demyx's head right next to mine.

"Riku. He's my cousin's boyfriend..." my voice trails off as I realize the blonde next to me looks extremely torn up. His skin, once an albino color, is dark and burnt. Cuts slashed up his face, along with dark circles around his eyes. His arms seem by worse of his whole condition – skin cracked and peeling off, and a strong scent of blood and smoke lingers to his aroma. "Demyx? Wh-What happened?"

Demyx sends me a wary smile. "It's nothing."

"Did... Did _Axel _do this to you?"

"Don't worry about it."

"D-Demyx..! You look like shit – did Axel do this do you?"

"...Yeah, but it's nothin'. I mean, he was always the pyro of the group," Demyx offers a small, quiet laugh, but I can't even join in with him. How could he treat this so lightly? I, for one, want nothing more but to strangle that stupid redhead! How _dare _he injure my own friend in this whole house! "But... how are you?"

I pause in my thinking, remember faint clips of the night before. I certainly do remember screaming for Demyx, and Axel losing his temper. I remember the pain... and my mind went blank. How did I get out of that place? Had Demyx pried Axel off of me? Did he fight off the blonde? The last thing I do remember, after that, is lying in the kitchen all alone.

"I'm... fine."

"That's good," He smiles much brighter, "Zexion's been wondering how you've been. He said you were very close to death." _Zexion? _"You remember him, right? He pulled you out of the basement."

"He.. what? I don't remember."

"Oh... oh well! At least you two can meet properly now!" Before I can utter a word, Demyx calls for his friend. After a few minutes, a man steps into the room. The first thing I notice is his hair. It looks familiar – the color, at least – but everything else about him is new. Like how short the man is, practically my height, and his eyes are a deep, dark blue. Almost a violet color. His hair layers over his face, so half his face is hidden, while the back of his head seems shorter.

"Hello," I mumble feebly.

"Hello, Roxas. I am Zexion." Demyx's friend introduces himself, not even bothering to smile or look a least bit happy to see me.

"Roxy said he's feeling better! Isn't that great?" Demyx chirps up, smiling excitedly. I raise an eyebrow and fight off the urge to smile at how adorable the blonde's face is.

"That's all very astounding, but I mustn't worry about little stuff like that," Zexion says, casting a wary look my way. Well, I feel very welcome here. He looks back at Demyx. "There are bigger wonders rather than whether your friend is going to live or not, wonders like, _where _are the others? They all know not to be wandering around this house, especially now, with a human in our hands."

"I'm sure Xiggy and the others are just taking a little break from hiding around! Jeez, it's like a military here." Demyx gives Zexion a pouting look, and then looks towards me. "Hey, Roxy, you never met Xigbar and the others, have you?"

I shake my head, slightly curious on the worries of why it's such a big deal on where they roam around.

"Oh, we have to go find Xaldin! And Xigbar! Luxord, too!" My arm falls out of its socket as the blonde jumps up with fast speed and jerks me out of bed.

"Wa-Wait a minute! Demyx, hold on!" I grab onto the bedsheets, which are easily stripped off, just like I was. If it weren't for Zexion cutting in and stopping the blonde, I think I would've held onto the door frame so I wouldn't have to leave this room.

"Demyx, relax there for a moment." The lilac-haired ghost steps in front of the door and stops the blonde. I feel my hand be released and almost immediately I snatch it back, moving my arm around from the lack of the limb being connected to the rest of my body.

"Whaaat...?"

"How about we wait here until _they _come to _us_?"

"But that's boring!"

"And it's safer."

"Safer?" I poke into their conversation, perking my head up and looking at Zexion. "What do you mean?"

"It's _safer_," he drawls out the word, as if speaking to a toddler, "meaning we'd be in _danger_ if we stepped out of the room-"

"Yeah, I know what it means," I snap, "why is it safer though? What's out there?"

Zexion clears his throat a little, sending a glance at Demyx before replying, "Demons."

* * *

**A/N: Oh ho ho! :3**

**The seventh addition to this little fanfiction. I love you guys so much! And I felt horrible for not updating on Saturday, so I made this longer than I originally planned. I also planned Axel to take Roxas, but hey, no need to rush into things, eh? I also think my subconscious made me wait this long is just because I wanted to say "MERRY CHRISTMAS YA' WANKAS!" :DDD Australians are awesome.**

**Fun-Fact: The songs used to write this chapter is Stand by Me by Ben E. King, Control by Metro Station, and The Wanted by All Time Low.**

**Reviews are the presents to my tree~**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"He bit into ya' pretty deep..."

I wince at Demyx's cold fingers grazing over the strange holes in my neck. He quickly mumbles an apology, stripping off the rest of the bandages that had been wrapped around my neck while I was asleep and gets up to dispose of it. I know he's trying to hide it so I won't be able to see it, but I still catch a glimpse of a dark red stain on the white cotton. It makes me shudder a little, but I brush off the mental image. An uncomfortable air breezes on my flesh and right into the holes on my neck. Mental images of that redhead biting me and tearing my flesh causes my head to sink onto the pillow, and I close my eyes, desperately trying to rid of the thought.

"Roxas...?" the dirty-blonde asks, almost shyly. I spare him a glance.

"Yeah?"

"When we went into the basement, you were, well, naked, and I was wondering if um... well, uh, did something happen? Between you and Axel...?"

I bite my lip, averting my eyes to the blankets. Demyx had dressed me in the clothing I had brought into the living room while I was asleep – he told me he did. I don't blame him for wondering exactly _why _I was stark naked.

"Uh..." I sigh to myself, "...yeah. Yeah, he did something..."

"H-He didn't rape you, di-did he?"

I blink and look up at Demyx, and to my surprise, he looks about ready to take a gun and shoot his brains out. Almost instantly, I shake my head and his whole body stance relaxes.

"That's good," Demyx has this lazy smile on his face, a glint of relief taking over his eyes.

"Why would you want to know if something happened?" I question after a few seconds. A silence follows after. "Demyx...?"

"It's... It's nothing." he shakes his head and instead to resume cleaning the bite on my neck, he mumbles a quick apology and fades out of the room. My eyes widen.

"De-Demyx!" I call out. No answer. "Demyx, get back here!" still, no answer. My bare feet touch the wooden floors as I heave myself off of the bed and walk over to the door. Sick, wet liquid begins to trail down my neck, and I clamp a hand over the bite mark. Damn it, where did Demyx put the clean bandages? I scan the room, but nothing useful comes into view. More blood seeps between my fingers and drips on my shoulder. "Zexion? Demyx? Damn it, come back!" I hiss.

My demand echos through the room, and I'm pretty sure it echoed through the hallways outside of the door. I shiver a little, grabbing a hold of the doorknob and twisting it open. The corridors are filled with black, save the light coming from the window behind me. I turn my head to the door itself, and it surprises me to see a Roman numeral engraved into it. **IX. **Nine, I think. A quick thought flashes in my mind, wondering how many numbered doors there are.

A whimper breaks me out of my thoughts. I blink and look down the black corridor. Another whimper, much more softer. Who is that? Confusion etches across my face as my feet take a mind of their own and begin leading me into the darkness. It sounds almost like somebody is crying. Continuing to listen, I barely notice how many hallways I've passed or how many steps I've climbed until they finally halt in front of simple wooden door. Nothing is engraved on it, as far as I can see in the dark, and it almost looks too fragile, as if the slightest touch would break it down. Silence echos through my ears, and I'm about to start walking back, until the faint noise of crying reaches my ears. It's behind the door. I bite my lip.

Grabbing a hold of the doorknob, I twist it and gently nudge it open. To my dismay, it creaks to warn of the person in the room. The soft whimpers fade off, and there's only the painful silence left.

"H-Hello?" I say in a hushed voice, almost frightened that I might scare off the being. A few more seconds pass. No answer.

I sigh to myself and slip between the small space that the door left me. I'm in the room now, and I can tell, it is a girl's room. By the window, where the sun is slipping through the leaves and limbs, it casts a very small portion of light to seep into the room. White curtains hang from the window, spread apart to allow more light. The floor, like the rest of the house, looks like a mouse could crawl on it and it would break under the little weight. A bed by the window has pink and white coverings, and few dressers crowd around the rest of the area. My attention is sparred to a door on my left, cracked a little.

"Hello?" I call out, a little more louder this time. Still, no answer. Approaching a door has never been so scary, but I manage to pull myself to the seperate room and push it open. Dim light floods into the small area, and my eyes immediately spot a tiny girl all cuddled up in the corner. It's hard to see her, with all of these burnt clothing covering her, but I can barely manage to see the outline. Her whole frame is shuddering. She looks no older than fourteen.

"Hey..." I reluctantly take a step towards her. Sharp, blue eyes snap over to me, and the urge to retreat that step is tempting. Thankfully, I don't. "Hey, are you alright?"

"N-No," she sniffles, blonde hair covering half of her face as she looks down at the floor.

That hair. Where have I seen that? It looks so familiar. Clear liquid stains her cheeks.

"...C'mon, you shouldn't be in here," I mumble, holding out a hand for her to take. She hesitates before resting her palm onto mine. I pull her up to her feet.

My eyes grow wide. The dress she's wearing... it's _her_. Sure enough, as her head twists up to mine, I can see a faint, thin line wrapped around her neck. Startled, I shake my hand away from her's and jump back, my head slamming slightly against the open door. "Ho fuck," I breathe. I remember this girl now. The one that I had seen the very first night I stayed. Her screams were unbearable. How is she alive? Is she dead? Questions fill my mind as I give her a shocked, fearful stare.

"Roxas..." she whispers.

_~~~1908138~~~_

Blood trickles down his chin as he takes quick intakes of air. Sweat beads down his forehead and into the cuts on his cheeks. The dull sting annoys him, but he pays no mind to it. Outside the door, he hears nothing. _Where's Roxas? _Sora muses, locking the door and slumping down against the door frame. Had his little cousin died from his own foolish dare? It seems so simple to think that Roxas's blood has already been spilt against the walls.

Sora sighs, shaking his head and running his fingers through the brown clumps of hair attached to his skull. If he had his phone, he could dial Riku's number and beg him to come to the house. Or maybe call the police. Or _something. _Why on earth did he _drop _his phone again? _Oh, right,_ he thinks bitterly, _something fucking attacked me. _Wherever his phone was now, he knew it'd be damaged beyond repair. What exactly _did _attack him? The brunette can only summon up small little clips of the animal. For sure, it had golden eyes that simply showed his death in seconds. It was huge, as far as he knows. Taller and bigger than himself. Almost... almost like a man.

_No, that's stupid! It was growling and snarling! How could that thing be a man? _

A sigh escapes his lips. He's far too tired to care anymore what that thing was, as long as it doesn't harm him anymore. His eyes wander over to finally look around the room. This room, he notes, seems like it's been used recently. The bed is unmade, and there's a faint scent of food wafting around. The blinds are up, shining down on the sea-colored bed and floor. In fact, it seems as though someone was already living here. _Who's been here? ...Roxas? _Sora couldn't stop the small lift of hope that his cousin could be still alive.

Exhaustion towers over the boy. Without even thinking, his legs heave him towards the bed, step after step, second and second his mind shutting down. His eyelids feel heavier and heavier with every blink.

"_Well, what have we here?"_

The brunette startles, his mind snapping awake and his eyes darting all around the room. They land on a male standing by the door, with long blonde hair and large grass-green eyes. The blonde hair has the same color as Roxas's, but that might have been just from lighting.

"Wh-Who are you?" Sora asks, feeling curious, but his stomach making warning flips. The tall being raises an eyebrow and gives a smile that would scar small children.

"I am Vexen."

"I-I'm Sora... listen, do you know where my cousin is? He came into this house because I dared him to, and then I came in to check on him but he wasn't here and I found his phone but it was covered in blood and-" A hand shoots up, silencing the brunette.

"Your cousin? I have yet to meet him. Though I would assume he'd be long gone by now." Vexen says this without feeling the slightest pity. His green eyes dance over Sora's face, noticing the features turn dark with depression, and Vexen has to mask his smirk by pressing his finger against his lips. "Though, judging by your appearance, you've met out _dog_, Saix." After no answer, the tall being continues, "He attacked you because you were nothing but prey to him. Everything is prey to him... except the ones on his side. No doubt if you don't get out of this house, you'll die from our pet. So I've come with a request. Follow me and stay alive... or go on your own and die a pathetic death."

Sora lifts his head a little, looking up into those eyes. He knows they're masking something, but he can't put his finger on it.

"I...I'd rather go by myself than with you." He snaps at Vexen. The blonde raises an eyebrow, clearly showing how unimpressed he is.

"Oh? Alright then." A sneaky grin comes across the blonde's features as he raises his hand and there, before Sora, opens up what looks like a swirling vortex. The brunette's eyes go wide and he jumps back a little. Vexen trudges towards Sora and he grabs the smaller being's arm. The tall man's hands feel cold to the touch, causing tingles to race through and through Sora's spine. He let's out an unmanly squeak as Vexen throws Sora into the portal, and soon follows after, laughing to himself.

_~~~1908138~~~_

"How do you know my name?" I ask, biting my lip.

"I've seen you," she offers a small smile. If it weren't for the tears, I could almost say she looked a little happy. "My name is Namine." _Namine._ Sora had said something about her. She died from hanging. It makes so much more sense to me now. I give her a confused look, and she sighs.

"You never answered my question," I mumble, rubbing the back of my neck and lowering my gaze to the ground.

"It's hard to explain." she presses both of her palms together and parts her fingers. "...You have to stay away from everybody here. You have to get out, Roxas. It's dangerous for the living to be in this house, especially with a heart like yours."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I cross my arms and finally meet her eyes again. She looks guilty and pained, but also desperate.

"It means that you'll die here. Everybody is a danger to you. Xemnas and his group will want you even more because your heart is so pure. Demyx and his gang are _using _you to ward off the demons- wait!"

I don't stop as I walk towards the door. How could this girl, who I don't even _know_, tell me my friends are using me and "everybody's a danger" and all this bullshit?

"No, stop! You have to get out!" I ignore her and open the door. She runs foreward and catches me off by surprise by throwing herself at me, hanging onto my shirt and pressing up against me. My eyes widen. This is _way _too close for my personal liking. "Xemnas will _kill _you when he gets the chance! Do _not _give him that chance! Please, don't trust Demyx and the others, they won't help you!"

"How do _you _know all of this?" I snap.

"I just know, okay? No one in this house is going to save you."

"Yeah, right," I shove her off and keep my hand in a fist on the door handle as I trudge out of the room.

"...Especially stay away from Axel." I hear her mutter, and it pauses my whole body. I don't know why, but something tells me she knows more about Axel than anybody else in this place. I turn towards her, seeing Namine with her head hung low and her eyes locked onto the flooring.

"...What was that?" I question. She blinks a little and looks up at me. Her eyes show no emotions now.

"There's a rule in this house. You've broken that rule. _Never _go down into the basement. Axel resides there. He's the one you want to fear more than Xemnas. Zexion casted a spell to chain Axel into that room. He's restless and angry. He kills in seconds and laughs for hours, at absolutely nothing. I know you've been down there. Your neck is proof." Instinctively, I raise my hand and brush my fingers over the empty holes engraved in my flesh. Dried blood crowds around the openings. "Do _not _give yourself to him. You will not die from his bite, but if... if he takes you, you'll die. It's hard to believe, but he's poison inside and out."

"What happens if I do have sex with him?" She cringes at the word "sex", though I'm not sure why. Her blue eyes finally show a hint of emotion, but an emotion nonetheless. Sadness.

"No one knows."

* * *

**A/N: 8D Oh hai thar sexy's~**

**Well, installment number eight is out! Buy one today!**

**OH, MY SEXY READERS, I MUST INFORM YOU: I changed something in chapter one ; ^ ; I was too limited with characters, and I wanted to add more, so instead of Sora going, "I dunno their names, but there were nine of them," it's now, "I dunno their names, but there were eleven of them."**

**A small little edit, causing this story to be even more awesome 8D**

**Welp, I have to go relax. Midterms start tomorrow, y'know. **

**Reviews are the hair to my head~**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

What Namine said haunts me. I honestly don't know if I should believe her. She's confusing. So many questions stick like glue in my mind. However, despite my confusion, I am not going to forgive her for calling my only friends "users". Demyx is kind. Zexion... well, if Demyx has befriended, then he can't be that bad. But I can never believe that someone like Demyx would use me. Besides, I'm not _that_ stupid. I know when someone is taking control of me or not. Certainly Demyx hasn't done such things.

Pure hearts; Xemnas; Axel... I rub my head, not paying any mind to where I'm heading. This is all too stressing for me to pay attention to my surroundings. How could any of this happen? It's not like I _wanted_ it to happen. Probably wouldn't even have happened in the first place if I wasn't so hell-bent on finding a bathroom. I knew Mom was right when she told me I _need _to be patient. Too late for that now. But now that I think about it, the bathroom _wasn't _exactly my narrowed choice. I mean, I could've easily stepped outside and went in the bushes some some kind of crazed huntsman. Regardless, I know this could have been avoided... in some way.

But it's too late to do anything now. Now I have to figure out exactly _what _I should do. Namine said I was on some sort of hit list for this Xemnas guy, and something tells me he's not a friendly neighbor. Axel's taken care of - proving the fact that he's locked up in the basement and can't touch me as long as I stay out of there. Easy as that sounds, I can't help but wonder what would happen if that X-faced monster comes after me again, and he corners me in the kitchen again. I'd be on the line of death if I went into the basement, and it's pretty much proven I'll be shredded to pieces if I stay out with that beast.

"...as! Roxas, where are you? God, Zexy, what if the Demons caught him?" I can hear Demyx's worried voice break through the corridors, succeeding in distracting me.

"Demyx?" I call back. My feet halt and I wait to here his reply, but all I'm met with is total silence. "Demyx, I'm over here!" Damn it, where is that blond? I take a deep breath, praying my hearing isn't all that horrible, and stalk down the hallway, trying to pinpoint where I heard his voice. A little faint yell is the response I hear. Fuck. I spin back around and rush through the hallways. "Demyx, where are you!"

"Heh, lookin' for Demy, huh?"

I yelp in surprise and jump about five feet away from where I was headed towards. Emerging from the darkness, a man locks eyes (or perhaps should I say 'eye'?) with me and smiles crookedly. He has what looks like a battle scar on his cheek, and an eye-patch covering his right eye. What scares me even more is the guns he's spinning around in his hands, as if they're slender circus sticks. I press a hand against my chest, trying to control my heartbeat.

"Don' be so jumpy, sheesh," he mumbles, "yo, Demyx! Ova' here!" He waves one of his guns up in the air. I cringe every time it aims closer to my face. Seriously, this guy needs to learn to keep _those _sort of household objects to the floor. I mean, what would his mother say? If I were his mother, I'd take those damn things away from him and give him a time out... _If _I were his mother, that is.

"What is it- _Roxy!_" Before I can duck, more or less blink, my whole body is engulfed in a death hug. No puns intended. Demyx keeps his arms wrapped around me tight enough to the point where I can't breathe, even if I tried.

"De-Demyx...!" I hiss, attempting to pry the dirty-blonde off by his arms. He fails to notice my weak attempts.

"Mmm, what?"

"A-Air...!"

"Huh, oh! Sorry," His cheeks flush as he releases me and flashes me an innocent smile; a smile I can't help but return. In the corner of my eye, though, I notice the slate-haired ghost step from the corner of the hallway and flash me an angry look. It vanishes instantly once my eyes lock with his, and he returns his gaze to the book in his arms. _What's his problem_?

"Heh, I think I scared 'im, Dem." The man with the guns says, grinning ear to ear, as if he's _proud _to have scared little boys. I shoot him a dirty look, but he continues on smiling.

"Well, it's not too hard to believe." The dirty-blond replies, and he earns a playful shove from the taller being. "Maybe you should introduce yourself?"

"Hmph." I'm startled to find the man disappear in an instant, and re-appear nose-to-nose in front of me. He grins, "I'm Xigbar, short-stuff. What's your name?"

"Uhh..." What's with everyone getting into my personal bubble? I take a step back, but he matches my movements and steps forward, seeming to enjoy getting in my space. "I'm Roxas..."

"Roxas, eh? Well, if yah don't mind, I'm gettin' pretty bored with this _introducin' _stuff. How's 'bout we go annoy Xaldin and Luxord?" Xigbar casts a glance at Demyx, who nods happily, and Zexion, who isn't even listening in to the conversation. Once again, I catch Zexion's eyes. They burn with rage, demanding something from me, but I can't figure out _what _he's so boiled up about. The curious look I respond with doesn't seem to satisfy him, but he turns away from me and glances at Demyx.

"...nd maybe they'll let us play with them!" The dirty-blond finishes speaking. The tallest of the group shrugs, both not even realizing how tuned out I was.

"Whatever, kiddo. Let's go," With that, Xigbar wraps an arm around Demyx's neck and ruffles my hair.

"Hey!" I hiss, slapping his hand away. He laughs.

"Makin' sure you're still alive there, kiddo. Now, onward!" With that, both spirits dash down the hallway, leaving Zexion and me in the dust. I run forward to hopefully catch up with their speed, but an arm flies out and stops me from going any further. I blink and look up at Zexion.

The ghost slams his book shut and sends me a cold look. "I personally think it's disgusting to see a human trying to fit in with the dead. Let me ask you, Roxas, are you intending on staying in this house? Because _I _wouldn't want you to be such great friends with all of us, and then leave like nothing happened. No one would like that at all – _especially _Demyx. He's a sweet kid, but _possessive _of what he loves. A word to the wise: _Stay away _from everyone here. Be as much of a stranger to them as they are of you. You will be glad you did in the end."

The spirit turns his back on me and the sound of his boots creaking the floorboards is the only sound echoing in the corridor. Confusion etches itself on my face. What in the _hell _is Zexion talking about?

"Roxas! Aren't you coming?" I see Demyx at the corner of the hallway, looking back at me with a wide, puzzled stare.

"Y-Yeah..." I mumble. Goosebumps rise along my skin as I take my time walking over to the blonde ghost. What did Zexion mean "he's a sweet kid, but _possessive_"? Something's not right here. I can only imagine what it might be.

Demyx seems to notice something is on my mind. His questioning expression turns to concern. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"N...Nothing." Something in my gut tells me not to mention anything about the random one-sided conversation with Zexion.

"You sure? You look nervous." Demyx rests a cold hand on my shoulder. I strain a calm grin at him.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Weren't we going somewhere...?" Thankfully the blonde doesn't push it any further and instead wraps an arm around my shoulder, pulling me down more confusing hallways, talking about _other _ghosts that I have to meet.

Oh, joy.

_~~~1908138~~~_

_Who the hell are _they ___to take him away from me? Demyx and those fucking fags can__not____ take what's mine. Roxas belongs to me. Roxas belongs to me! I will not allow this to keep going on. I'm not going to sit here like a dumbass, letting that human go wherever he pleases. No doubt Xemnas will try to kill him, and it ain't even up for discussion on whether Demyx's going to try to smuggle that kid into death. Seems like I have to save the human's ass. I __have ____been doing that for the past hundred-odd years. _

___A sigh builds up in my chest. There's no way I'm going to wait for this battle to end all locked up in this basement. Zexion's spell has __got ____to be weakened by now._

___I lift myself off the bed and walk up the stairs to the basement door. Creaking it open, I peer out into the kitchen, seeing nothing of interest. It looks the same as last year, and the year before, and the year before that. Almost timidly, I reach my hand out, letting my arm expand further, past the door frame._

_"__Fuck!" I hiss, retracting my hand. A slight cut appears on my index finger, where that fucking spell shocked me. I glare into the open space, licking up the few drops of blood and trying again. The same thing happens, but the cut is bigger now. There is no way in this hell am I going to stop now. _

___Taking a few steps back, I stomp up the stairs and force myself through the spell. Waves of pain rush through my veins to the very bone and I screech, falling back but managing to grab a hold of the wall before I tumble all the way down the steps. The aftertaste of it is still shaking me a little, but I force myself back up and dash forward again._

___And again._

___And again._

___Again._

___Faster._

___Faster._

___Again._

___A scream erupts from my being as I feel my body crash into tile, and blood seep into other cuts, stinging them even more. I grit my teeth, my eyelids squeezed shut and my fists clenched hard enough for my fingernails to stain with red liquid. After what seems like eternity, I finally open one of my eyes. The plain white wall is two inches from my face, but right next to it is cabinets, and next to that is the sink, finally coming to the stove. Everything is much more close-viewed. I blink a little and sit up, ignoring the numbed protests of the wounds. They would heal in time. _

___But now, as I look around, it finally hits me._

___I'm out, baby._

___

* * *

_**A/N: Woo! Addition number nine! :3 Just a quick note, for all you people who didn't quite get it, the last bit was Axel's POV. Sorry ^^"**

**In this short little box, I'd like to thank _everyone _who's favorited, reviewed, or alerted this story. It means a lot to me. And, another thing real quick. A couple of months ago, I had a dream about this story. ; _ ; I had a dream that this story had ninety-one reviews. When I woke up, I saw I only had twenty-three. Let me tell you, backtrack a couple of months ago and I would've told you I could never believe this story would actually reach about ninety reviews, give or take. Thank you _so much _for making my dream come true. :) **

**Reviews are the music to my ears~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Luxy, meet Roxas. Roxas, meet my beeeeest friend in the whole entire world, Luxord!"

"Well, hello there, Roxas." British accent. Nice.

"Uh... hi..." I awkwardly hold out my hand as I say this because I'm not really sure if it would be considered rude to the dead if I didn't. Respect the dead, as mom said at my Grandpa's funeral. Not that I don't, but holding my hand out for a handshake is not normally what I do. Then again, I'm not very polite, but I can at least try. So I'm holding my hand out, and this tall, blond and blue eyed man eyes me, an amused feature lingering in his face. There's really nothing else to do but stare back up, and it startles me a little how I honestly _can't look away. _His eyes are this crystal sky-blue color, and it's actually pretty to look at.

Somewhere during this stare-off Luxord and I were having, my arm had fallen back next to my side and Demyx somehow appeared at the table across the room.

"Luxxxyyyy! Where's Xaldy?" Demyx cries out, plopping down into a wooden, shabby looking chair. It creaks in protest, and I can see why. Ash is gathered all over the arm rests, while the wood itself is scratchy and thinner than it should be. One of the legs is cracked and looks as though it's going to break any second now, while the cushions are black and crispy. To tell the truth, everything in this room looks crispy and dark. Demyx told me this is the furnace room – it's _right next _to the basement, but there's a good two meters of wood in between the areas. It still doesn't calm me down at all that we're downstairs, next to the demon's playroom. But it does look homey, despite how burnt the furniture is. The table looks salvaged, but there's a good amount of ash and dust growing underneath its surface and on the floor.

"I don't know. Probably to Restore, that bloody bastard." the tallest blond answers, dusting off his black cloak. It seems strange that he's wearing the same thing as Demyx, but with a little more of his touch to it, such as the shoulders more slanted and pointed, and the cloak itself looks more roomy. Now that I think about it, everybody I've ran into seems to be wearing the same thing, with the exception of Namine. I would ask why in the hell they are all dressed the same, but another question is already running out of my lips.

"What's Restoring?" I question, following Luxord like a child would to its mother as the blond steps closer to the table and sits down in another chair much like Demyx's.

"Would you care to evaluate, Zexion? You seem to know the most," a hint of sarcasm hides in Luxord's voice, but he isn't even looking at the slate-haired spirit. He's shuffling a musty deck of cards, seeming to tune out the rest of the world.

"Why _certainly_." Zexion slams his book shut and takes a glimpse of me before turning away, "Restoring is when Spirits and Demons return to the darkness for a short amount of time to gather energy back. Much like you humans, with your sleeping habits. There is possibly no way to retrieve a ghost once its gone to Restore, but they return in a few hours."

"So like... everyone in this house Restores?" I ask, shifting my weight to my other foot. That empty chair at the table looks tempting, but I have to keep reminding myself of the two broken legs set up to look as though it's fixed and normal, but I can see the cracks all around it.

"Well... not necessarily. Spirits like myself and the others in this room Restore, and the Demons such as Saix and _their_ kind Restore... but Nightmares do not. You would want to stay clear of those types of ghosts, because Nightmares are exactly what they are labelled as. With no need to Restore, those things can _never _vanish from the world. They are practically spawns of Satan, thus ensuring Nightmares can never be warded off, unlike the rest of us..." pausing, and then adding, "Axel is a Nightmare."

I bite my lip, because this isn't exactly thrilling news. In fact, I'm pretty much fucking screwed if I wander back into that basement.

"...Hey! Let's stop talking about boring things!" Demyx cheers, smiling, but there's a hidden emotion in his eyes. Anxiety? I'm not sure.

"Yes, what Demy said. How 'bout we play a round of Strip-"

A painful scream erupts the air. The hair on my arms immediately rise and the whole room goes utterly silent. The cry lasts for a second or two, before it falls into silence as well. No one speaks, more or less makes a move in the slightest. After what felt like trillions of hours, Demyx is the first one to utter a sound. It's a whimper.

"Lu-Luxy... w-was that...?"

"I don't know, love.." The Spirit pulls himself up to his feet and strides across the room. I watch him trudge past me and the urge to follow him is convincing, but my brain manages to nail and lock my feet to the floor. My eyes pass to the normally-bubbly blond, but he has a frightened look on his face, the kind anyone would see on a child's face after they've "seen" the Bogeyman in their closet. Luxord has a poker face on, keeping a cool expression, but I can see how tense he is. My eyes scan Zexion's, but instead of fear, he looks more interested and distraught than anything else.

"Wh-What is it?" It alarms me a tiny bit to hear my voice is more weak than I expected. Almost like a person trying to speak when they're losing their voice. Though I can't exactly say this is all calming.

"...I don't believe doing absolutely nothing is in our best interest," Zexion mumbles with ease in his voice, "Demyx, go with Roxas to a safe room. Luxord and I will check to see if he's really... out."

"He? Who's he?" My questions are out in the open to unheard ears.

"Bu-But-"

"_Demyx_. Now." The tiny ghost hisses, cutting off Demyx and stepping towards the door. "Roxas... I would advise you to keep locked in a tight space, do not, for any reason, leave Demyx's side, and most importantly. _Do not make a sound._"

_~~~1908138~~~_

It's dead silent. There's a really bad cramp locked up in my left leg, and the urge to switch positions is inviting, but with Demyx up close next to me, I can barely move. It smells of dust and burnt wood, but it smells kind of good. I don't know what time it is, or how long we've been in this closet, but I'm praying we get out soon.

"Wh-What do you think happened to Zexion and Luxord?" Demyx whispers into my ear, because I think he's afraid if he speaks up any louder, something will come to find us and burn us alive. He still hasn't told me _what _exactly we're hiding from, and half of me doesn't want to know. The blond's fingers intertwine with mine. He's been doing this for the last ten minutes, and it's really starting to bug me, because I _hate _holding hands with people. It makes me feel all weird and nervous. Again, for what feels like the billionth time, I break my hand from his and scratch the back of my neck stiffly.

"I don't know," I whisper back, "...Demyx, will you tell me what we're hiding from? Why _are _we hiding?"

Silence.

"R-Roxas... I think Axel's out."

My eyes widen. "Wh-What!"

"Shh! I think I hear something," I can hear the blond press his face against the door, and it takes a lot out of me to make sure I don't bite his head off because his damn hand is holding mine again. Biting my lip instead, I press my ear against the door as well. Everything is hushed, and it's actually beginning to scare me a little. Being in the stillness isn't my hobby, nor do I enjoy it every now and then.

"...Demyx-"

"I-I'm going to go out there. I need to go check it out,"My eyes grow wide at the blond's words.

"What! Demyx, Zexion said to stay hidden until-"

"But Roxas, something bad might've happened! I have to make sure they're alright... stay in here. I swear I'll come back for you," Before I can utter another sound, the feel of cold lips press against my warm lips. Shock overruns my veins, and I can't even seem to move as he stands and slips out of the closet. Once he closes the door and I can hear his nimble footsteps fade off, my whole frame turns over so I'm lying on my stomach.

What the fuck...? I blink a little and press a finger against my lips. They feel slightly cold, which makes me shiver. My heart is beating a little faster, but... it didn't feel right. Demyx _likes _me like that? Can dead people even have feelings? I bite my tongue, the strange sensation still fresh in my mind, but I'm exhausted. I don't want to think about Demyx, and that might be because just the simple fact that _Axel_, that fucking demon or Night-whatever Zexion said, is _out_, as in out of the basement, maybe _killing _my friends isn't very pleasant. I'm half tempted to follow the blond's footsteps and find out for myself, but my legs are cooperating, much less will I have the courage to _actually _twist the doorknob.

I'm not sure how long I'm cramped up in that closet until I begin to hear heavy footsteps on the rough floorboards. A second later, the closet door swings open, startling me as the doorknob bites into the wall beside it. I gaze up into Demyx's frightened aqua blue eyes, and I don't even have to ask what's wrong. _He's coming._

_~~~1908138~~~_

"...and then you'll take me to see Roxas?" Sora asks. His voice drips with sarcasm and he crosses his arms over his chest, raising a taunting eyebrow at the old man before him. The man's unique yellow eyes criticize brown eyes, and after a second, the silverette nods.

"I will take you to see your beloved cousin if you follow through with our deal."

"Okay... but seriously, I mean, how can I 'kill' the dead twice? If you guys are even dead..." _I think I should do some good to this world and check this man into the closest mental hospital. _Sora muses in his head. Ghosts and dead people are the _last _thing he can picture roaming around in the house. Better yet, he could picture maybe a vampire or an elf, but _ghosts_? No way. Nu-uh. Ghosts don't exist.

"On the contrary, Sora, only Nightmares cannot be vanquished. The Kingdom Key will help you destroy the others that are holding your brother hostage." The mention of those... _monsters _holding his cousin hostage causes Sora to clench his palm up. He wants to kill those people – _ahem_, ghosts – for torturing have no right! The brunette bites his lip with a sour expression plastered to his face. Without noticing, the man in front of him lets off a cold, knowing smile. Sharp, canine teeth gleam into view, and once Sora snaps out of his thoughts and looks up, he visible shivers. That smile doesn't fit on that face.

"Saix," the bellow from the man startles Sora. The boy looks back and his eyes widen. It's the thing! The monster that had attacked him earlier! "retrieve the weapon." While the order is said, Sora and Saix both glare at each other, scowling with hatred. Sora looks away first when he hears the low grumble of a snarl coming from the bluenette far from him. Reluctantly, Saix leaves to fetch said weapon.

Sora bites his lip. What is he doing? Certain he wouldn't kill anyone, even if they _were _torturing his little cousin. He's not strong enough. If Riku were here, Sora thinks, he could do it. He could stab someone without so much as a second thought. But it would be of the matter of if he _would _save Roxas from these so-called heartless men named "Demyx" and "Zexion". He knows Roxas and Riku have sort of an angry past, what with the silverette making fun and teasing with hidden jealousy at Roxas, all because – and Sora knew this for sure – the blond had more time to spend with Sora than Riku. It was a stupid grudge, but it seems like they never recovered from it.

"The Kingdom Key, my Lord." The voice alarms him. He looks up and takes a step back in surprise at how fast and silent the monster was.

"Here. Try it out, Sora." The "Lord" commands, picking up the oddly shaped sword by the handle. Brown eyes lift up at the object. _It's just an oversized key? _Keeping his rather rude thoughts to himself, Sora draws up a weak arm and grabs the strange weapon. Suddenly, the full weight of the Keyblade mounts on him. Struggling to keep it up, he manages to choke out, "I-It's heavy,"

"Can you hold it straight?"

"Ngh... yeah." After a few seconds of fumbling, the brunette finally decides to grip the handle with both hands.

"Excellent." Another flash of a creepy smile places itself on the Lord's face. "Saix will attack you now. If you're successful, you will be rewarded with your life. If not... well, we both can hope it doesn't come to that. Begin."

_~~~1908138~~~_

"Demyx, what happened to Zexion and Luxord?" I breathe as silent as I can. His eyes water up a little and he shakes his head.

"I don't know... they aren't down there..." I stay silent because I'm not sure how to comfort him. I'm not good in these type of situations – comforting people and making them feel better. It's certainly not my skill of expertise. He blinks and looks up at me again, "we have to go. I have to get you out." The words perk my head up and I open my mouth to say something, but he shushes me and intertwines our fingers. Ignoring the urge to pull my hand away, I follow his lead as he takes me out of room and we start tip-toeing down the hallway. What used to be silent now makes noise – even the tiniest moan from the floorboards to the sound of the scuttling bugs crawling and creeping with us. It's not completely dark, but it's black enough to warn me not to walk ahead of the dirty-blond.

A few tense, silent moments pass.

"Ro-Roxas...?" Demyx whisper right into my ear. I fight off a shiver and stay silent. "do... do you want to stay here with me and Zexion?" I pause in my steps from his sentence, and he adds almost a little panicky, "I-I-I mean, y'know, er, forget about it, okay?"

"Demyx.." I mumble, "I've gotta get home to my family. I can't stay here. It's virtually impossible for a human to live with the dead, right next to his parents house." Guilt starts eating at me as I feel his disappoint wavering through the air, but my feet begin walking again. It's true though. How would I be able to survive? Save from these things trying to kill me, what would I eat? Obviously going out to the store is out of the question, because I know my Mom. She'll tape the whole town with pictures of me on "My child is missing!" papers. They'll spot me and I'll be going home. No doubt Mom will send me to the hospital if I tell her I've been living with ghosts.

Out of the black, I feel sharp fingernails dig into my arms and my body falls forward.

"Roxas!" Demyx shouts, and an intense snarl echos in the corridor. Protective, tense arms slither around my frame, and as I lift my head, I strain my eyes to look at the being that is holding me. Even in the shadows, burning, acid-green eyes glow. _Axel_.

* * *

**A/N: Hey! I updated! :3 Not much to say about this chapter, except now I'm struggling to keep it simple and not too complex. Blame Inception for this little problem. And anyway, this chapter is one of my favorites, mostly because the third to last line. I dunno why. **

**Oh, happy early Valentine's Day! Godihatethatholidaysoverymuch. **

**Also, a shout-out to AkuRokuStalker: I love you. ; U ; Your reviews always make me feel happy and giddy inside. You should make an account so I can reply to your reviews. **

**Happy reading!~**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Let him go, Axel!" the dirty-blond whimpers, taking a few steps forward, but backtracking one. Axel flickers his eyes to Demyx, narrowing them, as if to warn the spirit not to get any closer. I don't want to see any fear or sadness on the blond's face, so I force myself to stare at Axel, studying the demon's facial features more closely. He's not a bad-looking guy, I'll give him that. On the clay-white skin of his, the tattoos under his eyes beam more brightly – upside down triangles, I think, or maybe they're teardrops; it's too hard to make out. The feminine feature to his eyes give off some sort of catlike reference, and yet, the actual acid-green eyes cause shivers to run down my spine. Suddenly, his eyes flicker back to mine, captivating me in his gaze. Shudders peak down my spine, and yet... yet something about his stare locks me up. I can scarcely breathe, more or less think.

"_Fuck off, Demyx,"_ the demon hisses and returns his attention back to the spirit. A wave of dizziness leers over my shoulder, causing me to blink with a slow pace. A soft, tired moan spills from my lips, and I can admit, I willingly leaned my head down onto his shoulder. My eyelids close up; my vision being enveloped in the darkness. _"Roxas is tired. Allow me to take him to bed." _

"No way, you'll fucking kill him!" Demyx growls. A hand creeps underneath my shirt and trails upward, successfully distracting me from the current conversation. Goosebumps ripple down my spine at the feeling of the fingernails scraping my skin, but not hard enough to rip through.

"_Don't you trust me, Demyx? _I'm _just going to take little Roxy into a room and let him sleep. What do you take me for? It's no fun to play if the other person is exhausted, anyway." _he lets out a cruel laugh, digging his fingernails a little more harshly into my back. I squeeze my eyes shut and bite my lip to refrain from yelping.

"No. Axel, hand him ov-"

"Roxas!"

I blink and raise my head. Why does that voice sound so familiar? My eyebrows furrow in puzzlement as I direct my attention at the end of the darkened hallway, holding my breath, trying to make out any sort of shape. After a few tense seconds, I do notice a faded, barely noticeable blade. That blade connects to another, and another, eventually leading down a handle. A... key? It's an... an oversized key. Close to me, I can hear Axel begin to growl lowly, under his breath, his arms around me becoming more protective, but harsh. He pulls us both to our feet, but he never once releases me. Squinting, the bearer of the key has spiky, brunette hair, and soft blue eyes...

"S-Sora...?" I whisper, eyes widening. The dim lights attached to the walls illuminate his exhausted, worried face. Blood stains his arms, along with a few deep scratches, and one slice is engraved on his cheek. Red liquid mats the torn jeans. The only piece of clothing that seems completely unharmed is is shirt. Once we both connect eyes, his lips break into a smile.

"Roxas!" A goofy smile shines on his face, and he gets a running start towards me. I expected Axel to let go of me, and allow me to reunite with my cousin, but we both freeze as Axel hisses with rage. My heart momentarily stops as I gaze onto the demon's face, and man, he does _not _look like a happy camper. "Roxas... who is that?" Sora questions, and takes a hesitant step backwards. The growls quiet down.

"_Don't say a word." _the demon snarls softly, pressing his warm lips against my ear. _"Or else..." _Showing he means business, the redhead scraps his fangs against my throat, out of my cousin's view. The hairs on the back of my neck stand straight and I bite my lip, giving off the littlest nod. Satisfied, Axel pulls back and I can hear a smile in his voice, _"The name's Axel. Sora, is it? Anyway, I just saved little Roxy's skin from that horrible _monster _over there," _he nods his head over to the blond, causing Demyx to sputter in confusion, _"and, may I ask, is that a Keyblade? Do us both a favor and exterminate the idiot's life off. It'll be one less threat to Roxas." _Keyblade?

"Wait a m-moment, Axel-!" Demyx cries out, but his voice is silenced by my cousin's.

"If I kill him... then Roxas will be safe?"

"_Well, like I said – one less threat. He has followers that wish to kill Roxas. Isn't that right, Demyx?" _The name causes Sora's eyes to stretch in surprise, but I'm not sure why. Recognition waxes over his eyeballs.

"What? No! That's not right – I would never hurt Roxy! If anything, Axel's the real asshole here – he'll kill Roxas!" Demyx whimpers. The temptation to agree with the spirit is painful, but I force my vocal cords to remain silent. With the fucking demon right next to me, nuzzling his nose on the bite mark, I think I would rather step away from him before actually speaking. Still, it doesn't stop me from staring at Sora with panicky eyes, praying we could magically have some sort of telepathic conversation. I would be able to tell him everything, and he could... no... Axel can't die twice... only spirits like Demyx can... well, maybe my cousin could distract Axel long enough for me to escape, and we'd both flee from the house. That could work.

Unfortunately, Sora mistakes that panic in my eyes for hope.

"Roxas... is this true?" He asks, searching my eyes.

"_Nod." _Axel commands under his breath. With no hope of getting out of this, I do as told, and behind me, the blond whispers my name in disbelief. I can't bear to look at him, and I don't want to see Sora anymore. I don't want to watch this anymore. _"Roxas is terribly tired, Sora. I'll escort him to a room in the house, and then I'll come back for you, alright?" _my eyes grow wide. Demyx says I'll die being alone with Axel... does he intend to come back and murder my cousin?

"No." Sora growls, surprising both the demon and me. The body behind me tenses with irritation.

"_Excuse me?"_

"I don't trust you either, _Axel_. Roxas is staying here." Oh, how stubborn my cousin can become. I think I'm grateful for that now. Said being glances down at me, and I return the stare, attempting a weak smile. A normal, stupid-looking grin appears on his face, and it's so _ordinary _that I have the strangest urge to laugh, just for old time's sake. But I keep it in.

"Tch," the redhead scoffs and lazily rests his chin on the top of my head, his bony arms locked around me, and even if it looks like a carefree stance, I don't have a doubt in mind that the demon could keep me frozen like ice with the slightest bit of effort. Gulping up whatever courage that hasn't ditched me yet, I spare a glance towards the spirit, but find... thin air.

Demyx is missing? I roll my eyes – he must have ran away. The question is – where? With these events unfolding, though, I do hope the blond found a sufficient hiding spot. I would hate the thought of Sora "killing" my friend with that weapon he holds.

"Crap, he's gone..." the brunette growls, realizing the missing spirit, "where'd he go?"

"_Who knows... y'know what?" _I dread the tone Axel's using. He sounds pleased. _Too _pleased. _"I bet Demyx went downstairs. He's always trying to hide from his problems. He's probably in the basement. You should go check it out." _

"Really? Uh, well... thanks." Sora smiles brightly, nodding a thanks towards us.

"_But Sora, I must warn you," _a seriousness takes over his voice, but I can barely make out the slightest hint of mock, _"Demyx might be recruiting his little team. It'd be dangerous to take Roxas down there – especially when their whole goal is to _kill _Roxy. How about I guard him for you? I'll make sure no one touches him. Won't even keep my eyes off him." _

My cousin blinks and, to my surprise, he _actually_ takes the offer into consideration.

"So-Sora...!" I whimper more than above a whisper, staring at the brunette with helpless eyes. Instantly, the demon moves his hand to my arm and drills what feels like razor-sharp knives into the skin, out of Sora's view. I think I can see Axel giving me a faked curious, innocent look, but his teeth are gritted together.

"Hmm? Roxas?" Two little words. All I have to spill is two _little _words. _Help me! _It's not that I doubt this so-called Keyblade, but Axel isn't a push-over. The mere thought of something horrid happening to my cousin _just so _I could escape this Hell isn't worth it. But would be really be safe all alone hunting for the spirits? What if he runs into that blue-haired freak, or even worse – another Nightmare. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if something happens to him.

"...I-I'll be safe here, wi-with Axel," I whisper, locking eyes with Sora. Part of me hopes he can see through my lies, and he'll be the stubborn ass he is and stay with me. Another part prays he leaves, because Axel only has so much patience. Speaking of said demon, the man hushes into my ear, _"Good boy," _and the pressure of his nails soften.

"Oh, uh... alright, I guess. I-I'll be back soon, so um... see you soon?" A questioning concern is easily painted on his face, keeping eye contact with me, but he does flicker his gaze up at Axel.

"See ya'," I muster up everything I can and grin. Thankfully, Sora curls his lips and skips away – yes, _skips_ away. If that Keyblade is supposed to slay these spirits, or at least, it seems like it's supposed to, it kind of makes me wonder if they'll even fear him. As the brunette is swallowed up in the darkness, and his footsteps fade off into nothing, it sort of startles me that Axel hasn't tried anything yet. I peek up from my blond bangs and jump in alarm. He's staring at me.

"_Looks like it's just you and me, Blondie." _the redhead mumbles, _"I sort of expected this to be a little more... complicated. This seems almost too easy." _he shrugs to himself, _"Oh well. The less problems, the better." _I give him a strange look, and all he responds with is a smirk. Moving to my side, he slides his arm over my tense shoulders and leads me side-by-side with him, pressing his fingers down the back of neck and into my shirt. I bite my tongue, unsure how to act in this sort of situation. The lighting around us dims down, but brightens again as we pass a flickering lamp. It doesn't calm my nerves, especially with him so close. I briefly wonder if I would be tracked down and killed on the spot if I tried to make a run for it. A quick flash of that golden-eyed man finding me and tearing me to shreds eliminates the thought of escaping. As far as I know, I'm safer with Axel than being all alone in the open.

"A-Axel...?" I ask in a small voice, fidgeting with my fingers.

"_Hmm?"_

"...Where are we going?"

"_We're going where we won't be interrupted." _He glances at me with a smirk, "_don't worry – we're closer than you think."_ My blood runs cold. I'm willingly walking towards my death. What's wrong with me? Shouldn't I be freaking out? Shouldn't I be trying with all my strength to get away from the redhead? Why am I so calm about this? My forehead creases in agitation. I don't want to question myself. I'll do whatever comes natural, I guess. Obviously, it's not the best choice, but it's all I've got. Maybe, if Axel does murder me, I'll be a ghost, just like him. Everybody will see me, the way Sora and I could see them, and hopefully I'll be accepted in society. Then I could try to live a normal life again. I'll still be friends with the same people I hang out with every day, and Mom won't be mourning.

Ha, that's a funny joke. The people from the outside barriers of this house, _actually _accepting a dead being into their clan. No way. Even if they could see me, most might try to ward me off. Is that why spirits like Demyx never left this burnt-down house?

He halts, stopping me with him. My eyes gaze up at a regular, dusty old door. I raise an eyebrow and glance up at Axel, only to barely make out the Cheshire cat grin implanted on his lips. Slight confusion and anxiety is already attacking my mind. I don't like that smile. It makes me feel as though I'm in danger, but not in a way where I'll be seriously hurt... at least, I hope I'm not injured terribly. He peeks the door open with silence, and all that greets us is a scent of a hundred years and no source of lighting at all. _"Ladies first, Roxas," _he chirps, nudging me into the area. I shoot him a death glare, whether he saw it or not, and hesitantly step through. I can hear the demon's footsteps mimic mine, and for a strange reason, it calms me down a little. Call it crazy, but it's sort of... comforting.

The lock clicks into place behind me, and for a mere second, I expect the redhead to hurdle at me, painful or not. Nothing happens, though. In fact, I can't even hear his footsteps anymore.

"A-Axel...?" I call out nervously. No answer. He's in the room, I know that, and he's probably playing some sort of cat-and-mouse game with me. He seems to like those sort of games. My frown deepens. I can only dread what will happen when the cat has the mouse in its clutches. "Axel, stop it!" I hiss, taking a few steps backwards. His snicker echos through the room, as if he's enjoying my slight fear and attitude. Scowling in the black, I spin around to where I hope the door is located. Reaching out blindly, my feet carry me across the floor, only to allow my fingertips to brush against the chilling wall. Damn. Where's the door...?

Out of nowhere, hot, slender fingers dance up my spine. The smell of smoke fills the air, and before I can react, what feels like fire pokes through my shirt and onto my skin. Yelping out, I flinch away from the touch and press my back against the plaster of the wall, wincing at the cold surface meeting the burning hole eating my skin. I glare at the dark.

"Axel..." I growl, "stop playing with me."

"_Straightforward, huh?" _I startle at the voice near me, too near, right next to me. _"Heh, your wish is my command." _my eyes widen as I find the demon's body frame up against mine, one of his hands cuffing both my wrists above my head while his other hand places itself on my hips. I squirm under his grasp, but he doesn't seem to like it, because he gives me a warning nip on my shoulder. I frown and continue my antics stubbornly. I freeze only when I hear the demon snarl and dig his fingernails into my side, warm liquid gradually dripping from his fingers and staining my jeans. Satisfied with no more struggling, Axel releases his rough grip and trails butterfly kisses across my collarbone, shredding the t-shirt apart with his nail, causing the useless cloth to hang from my shoulders.

"_If I let your wrists go," _Axel mumbles against my skin, _"do you promise not to move? I would hate to have to punish you if you do..." _a shiver runs down my spine, but I nod, wondering if he can see me. It seems he can, because the redhead releases his hold on my wrists and lowers his lips. Part of me is curious how he would punish me, and I'm almost tempted to try and push him off, but I keep myself in check and decide not to irritate the dead being.

A blush slowly creeps on my face as my eyes adjust to the black room, and I can make out the shadow of Axel in front of me, kneeling down, kissing the miniature slashes on my hips. I can feel his tongue run against the blood, sucking some of it, cleansing it with his mouth. An unintentional moan escapes my lips. This isn't good. I'm... I'm becoming aroused. Biting my lip, I pray the darkness will cover the tent forming in my jeans.

Axel's fingers brush over the button of my jeans, and with a flick of his wrist, the pants loosen, before pooling down at my ankles. I swallow thickly, trying to control my formed erection from getting too excited. A sudden brush of his hand over my boxers quickly vanquishes the thought. I bite back some of the moans forming in my throat, and concentrate on my breathing, attempting to make it sound decently normal.

Without a warning at all, the demon grips my hips with both of his hands and yanks me down next to him. I cry out in surprise and land on my butt, yet before I can utter a single word, Axel smashes his lips onto mine. Taken off guard, I blink stupidly, taking my time before responding to the lip-locking. It's much different than the last time we kissed. The last time, I was in pain – I wanted his lips off mine and I wanted him away from me. Now... I hate to admit it, but this time... it's sort of nice. Rough as it is, it's still better than before.

It doesn't dawn on me that he's crawling on top of me until he grinds his hips against mine. I moan into the kiss, giving him the opportunity to thrust his tongue into my mouth. I can taste my own blood on his slick muscle, along with a taste both exotic and tangy. It tastes... well, all I can say is it makes me crave for more. Winding my arms around his neck, I press myself against him, surprising him. His dominance falters a little, and suddenly it's back full force, pinning me onto the floor, not shedding any mercy as he slides his hand up my thigh, tearing off my boxers and enclosing his hand around my member. Pleasure jolts through my body, my toes curling from being touched.

Forcing my lips away from his, I suck in as much air as my lungs can hold. The redhead doesn't seem fazed by the lack of air, but instead he moves his lips down to my nipples, nipping at one while his free hand toys with the other one. I know I'm fully hard now, and any sane thought is now hibernating somewhere deep in my mind, some place where I do not want to waste the effort to get to.

"Ax-Axel...!" I breathe, my eyes, which were once closed, now open. It's still shadowy, but my vision is much better than when I first entered the room. Gazing down, I meet those strange, green eyes. He's smirking.

"_Eager, huh?" _the demon drawls out, running his tongue over the pink nub. My breaths become a little more ragged, but I do not respond. I don't think I could, even if I wanted to. _"Heh, you're too cute." _

I blink curiously as Axel heaves himself off of me, leaving me slightly disappointed as his hand lets go of my erection. He's undressing himself. Averting my eyes, I grasp onto the first thought in my head, which is screaming at me as to why I'm allowing this to happen. _This isn't right – this is wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong! He's dead – he's just a demon. Get away from him! He's going to kill you! Get away! Flee! _I frown at the thoughts. Don't get me wrong – I hate this asshole with all my guts. At least, I hope I do. But he's my ticket to getting out of this house without being torn to shreds, and plus... I'm already in this mess. The least I can do for myself is rid my arousal by letting him do whatever he wants.

"_Stop spacing out on me," _his voice draws me back to reality, and I jump in alarm. He's on top of me again, and he's stark-naked. _"Suck." _Axel slips three fingers into my mouth, and even if I've never done this before, Sora's told me what those three fingers are going into. I reluctantly do as told, my eyes not leaving the demon's as I run my tongue over the digits over and over, sucking on the tips of them. I think he breathed out a groan, but it was too soft. After a moment, the man retreats his hand and replaces them with his lips. I'm the first to use tongues, but he easily claims the dominating role.

At first, the intrusion is painful. Instead of counting the fingers off, the way Sora had described it with Riku, he squirms two fingers in. It's enough to break lips with him and cry out. I hold back the tears of pain as he scissors me, leaning more on the rough side, but eventually the pain vanishes into somewhat pleasure. Only when he enters the third finger does he find a spot that makes me see stars. Grinning smugly, Axel rubs against that spot again.

"A-Axel...! Fuck..." I cry out, squeezing my eyes shut. He removes his fingers, but I can still feel them ghosting around inside of me, sending small jitters all over my body.

"_This will hurt... a lot." _The demon warns, and without another word, something large shoves into me. The feeling of being ripped apart is the only way I can dare describe it, barely catching him curse and moan. He pauses inside of me, just for a second, before rocking back and forth in a slow rhythm. It still causes unbelievable pain throughout my nerves, but I think I can get past it. In an almost apologetic way, Axel nips and sucks on my bottom lip, distracting me momentarily.

The feeling of being stretched is still so new to me, but I'm getting used to the feeling of being so _full. _Axel, being the most impatient being I have ever come to meet, pulls almost all the way out before thrusting himself farther into me, shaky breaths escaping my lips. _"Roxas... Roxas..." _the redhead mumbles, whispering my name over and over in a sultry tone, making me feel harder than I ever thought possible. It's only when he slams into that sweet spot do I scream his name in pure pleasure.

"Axel! Fu-Fuck... Ah-Ax-cel...!"

"_Do you – ah – know how sexy you sound?" _the demon groans into my ear, biting the lobe, eliciting a shiver to run its course. Encouraged, Axel increases his pace, hitting the special spot with every thrust, moaning sweet nothings into my head. His hand crawls down and he wraps his skillful fingers around my member, pumping me in rhythm. I can feel the climax coming – and it's arriving fast. Wishing this feeling could last for a lifetime, I turn my head and capture his lips, letting him tongue me without a complaint, digging my fingers through his hair.

"Ngh, Axel!" I cry, cumming into his hand. Not long after, he releases his seed into me. A numb voice in the back of my head whispers the dangers Namine had told me, and yet I cannot pay attention to a single word. I don't even think I remember her words – they all seem mushed up and disoriented in my head. Instead of dwelling on what might be coming soon, I focus on Axel, watching him with wary eyes, completely spent, seeing him ease himself out of me and lick his hand. My face feels flushed, and sweat beads over my forehead. It doesn't help that he feels the same, naturally, but I still find myself cuddling up close to him while he's next to me. His body tenses for a moment, as if puzzled on what I'm doing.

"_Roxas...?" _the redhead questions, soft enough that I could have easily ignored it.

"What?" I mumble, wrapping my arms around his sweaty chest and resting my head on his shoulder.

"_...Nothing. Rest..." _that's all the encouragement I need, and without much thought, I drift off to the familiar darkness of my mind.

_~~~1908138~~~_

_Pain..._

_The pain..._

_Fire...!_

_Skin... melting..._

_St-Stop the fire! It burns! _

_Why am I on fire?_

_Fire... I feel it licking my flesh._

_Stop it!_

_Stop the pain!_

Shh...

_What's wrong with you? Stop the fire! Stop the pain! _

You're not on fire.

_Are you blind! The fire...! The pain..._

_**Help me.**_

* * *

**A/N: HOLY CRAP I finally wrote it. :3 I'm terribl' sorry this took me so long - I was, y'know, procrastinating the first three weeks, and then some of my reviewers got impatient, and said reviewer tied me to a chair and forced me to write, so yeah ._. Oh, the lemon above? Yeah, that lemon is about five pages long. At least, OpenOffice said it was C: **

**I think I'll start replying to reviews now. ; _ ; I haven't been because I'm so anti-social. But now I'll thank everyone personally :D**

**Fun Facts: I made a mistake. The second chapter has Roxas going into the kitchen, and there's no doors but the basement. In an earlier chapter, I had accidentally wrote that there was a bathroom in the kitchen. Whoops~**

**I listened to _I'm in Love (With a Killer) _by Jeffree Star, _Passive-Aggressive _and _Pet _by A Perfect Circle.**

**ONE MOAR THING - AkuRokuStalker: I had tea with your ninja assassins. They're fun guys C: **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Everything aches. My whole body feels burnt and weak. All that surrounds me is the dark. With my vision impaired, my other senses have heightened more than I expected. I feel someone's body brush against mine, and their fingers run through my hair with the softest touches. I picture snapping my eyes open and scowling at the person, but I feel no motivation to move. Listening close, I note this specific person isn't breathing. I mean, I know, I shouldn't be able to hear them breathing at all, but if my intakes of air sound like drums in my own ears, then should I be able to hear their breaths? Even the tiniest huff? Maybe not, I'm not entirely sure. Somewhere outside the walls, I can hear children. Muffled screams and laughs find their way into my head. It causes the slightest whimper to escape my lips. ...Huh, that's strange. My mind feels extra sensitive – as if the smallest whisper would ache my head. .

"_...Roxas." _

That voice. My eyes flutter open like bird wings, but they open up to blackness. Everything seems to be... almost blurry. I squint, trying to make sense of even the smallest object, and yet all of it comes out to be mushy, strained colors. A warm hand presses against my back, pulling me out of my struggles and causing me to look up. Two blurred orbs of green tell me exactly who I'm pressed against, despite my problem of sight.

"Axel..." I whisper carefully. My throat burns. "Wh...What's happening?"

"_God..." _he sounds breathless, as if the demon had ran his little heart out... I don't even think dead people can have hearts. It comforts me to think they do, though.

"Wh-What? What's wrong...?"

"_Your eyes..." _is it obvious that I'm becoming blind? I bite my lip nervously, praying in some sort of form that my eyes weren't gorged out, or spurting out blood like that poor sucker in that one movie about death capturing souls or whatever.

"My eyes? What's wrong with them?" I note my voice is becoming less of a hassle to use. It's clearing up, and I can hear my own voice ring in my ears much easier. My throat still burns, but it's tolerable. Though a glass of water would be much appreciated. Ice will do. Fuck, even a glass of beer – something I vow _never _to drink – would be downed in a second if I had my hands on it.

"_Nothing... just... wow." _I let his fingers brush a strand of my hair away from my face, despite the urge to swat it away and crawl back. Something deep in my head is crying for me to get away from Axel. Like something dangerous is going to happen.

Keeping my expression completely cool, I reach up with a shaky grasp and hold onto his hand. He pauses, I can tell, maybe in confusion of his own? Without letting him think, I quickly lean closer until both of our noses touch. Closing my eyes, I plant a soft kiss on his cheek, whispering against his skin. "Axel... can we get out of here?" Yes... yes, we have to get out of here. No, not we. I. I have to get out here – away from him. He... He did something. I feel funny. Scared. But fresh. It's a strange sensation, really, but I bet Demyx would know what is happening. Or, to be more realistic, Zexion would have an answer.

I expect him to nod, or maybe say something stupid like those lovestruck teenagers on all those horrible sitcoms. Or maybe he'd push me away like the demon I know he really is. I didn't really expect him to suddenly seize my lips with his own, pressing himself closer to me. His hand reaches back and clamps down on my bare back, his other hand already holding my hips. Startled, I pry my lips open, ready to jump back and bark something at him, but before I can even move an ounce of strength, he's shoving his tongue into my mouth, both of our wet muscles clashing against each other.

"Mmm...!" I groan against his lips, but far from pleasure. Anger boils in my blood, and with no hesitation, I bite down as hard as I can on his tongue. Within a second, his blood drips into my mouth, and he's jerking away from me, screeching in pain. His fingernails engrave my hips, and it almost feels like he's trying to tear a chunk of my flesh away from my body. I'm positive he can. His other hand on my back has tightened almost to the point where my upper back is completely numb. Green eyes crashing into blue, I realize my mistake.

I hadn't moved.

Sure, maybe in my head I saw myself punching him and his body flailing off, leaving me to my clothes and then the door. But no. Once I looked at the _rage _set deep in those grass-green emeralds, my whole damn nervous system shut down, leaving me frozen and terrified.

"_You **fucking **brat!" _Axel hisses, drawing his hand from my hips to my stomach and slashing a long one vertically. The sick, wet liquid seeps from under my flesh, the aftershock of the pain not exactly... how I say... _pleasant_. A small groan escapes my lips, and I squirm under him, trying my hardest to not pressure my stomach; trying to make sure the mess isn't all that bloody. All the while, Axel straddles my waist, not moving, only staring at me, a deep frown embedded on his features. Turning to his side, he spits the blood and mucus onto the floorboards, and in turn I frown in disgust.

"_Hmph,"_ he grumbles, _"how much does this hurt?"_ Digging his fingernail less than an inch above the slash, his eyes trail over my face, studying. I gasp and bite my lip, one of my hands immediately closing in on his and attempting in vain to stop him. Needless to say, I didn't accomplish much. Squeezing my eyes shut from the white-hot pain, I dig my own fingernails into his wrist, praying he'll stop _hurting _me so much. To my dismay, he finds mirth in this and practically stabs me with his nail, very well poking a hole into my organs.

"St-Stop!" I choke out, tears beading at the edges of my eyes. He captures my free hand, and as I part my eyelids, he stares into my soul. I feel him drag my finger against my cut, staining my skin with the blood. And making sure my eyes are on him, he smirks and wraps his tongue around my digit, lapping up the blood like some sort of fucked-up lunatic.

...And still I manage to get all flustered over it.

It doesn't help my vision is sharpening.

"_Why should I?" _He inquires, dragging my finger into my blood again to lick it. _"__**Convince **__me to stop." _

"I haven't a clue what you want," I snap, still feeling a slight heat on my cheeks from feeling his talented tongue all over my bloody finger.

"_Oh, but I think you do," _he says lowly, leaning over me and retreating his fingernail from my flesh. Instead, he grabs the hand that wasn't already in his, and guides it lower down my body.

"I have nothing," I growl.

"_Are you sure about that, Blondie?" _Our noses touch, and my eyes widen as I feel my own fingers brush against my arousal. He forces my hand to wrap around it, his thumb running over the slit. A choked moan erupts from my throat – one I would rather have kept inside my mind. He grins at my response. _"I'll give you one chance to make up that little stunt you did earlier." _his tone darkens as he says this.

"You're fucking sick." I groan, his hand overshadowing mine as he forces me to pump myself. I can feel myself getting hard. No, this isn't right. I shouldn't even be doing this to _myself_.

"_You're not the first to think so," _Axel grins, giving me a chaste kiss. I glower at him, wanting nothing more than to break his face in, or something equally as violent, but before I can even make a move to jerk my hands away, he's running three of my fingers into my blood, pulling them up to his lips and taking all three digits into his mouth. I bite my lip, already finding it hard to keep my breathing normal.

"A-Axel..." I growl weakly, "stop... stop it."

"_But don't you like this?" _He leans his weight on my thighs and gives me that crazy, fucked-up smile. Before I can ask what he's doing, he forces my first slick finger into me. At the sudden intrusion, I cry out, squeezing my eyes shut and arching my back in pain. But it fades off with every jerk he forces my hand to make on my erection. I grit my teeth to hold back the sounds, and I only realize Axel's moved his lips from mine to my ear when he whispers hotly, _"Don't hold back. I want to hear __**everything.**__"_

My second finger is enforced in. I bite my lip painfully, moans still squeezing out. He releases his hold on my hand wrapped around my arousal, and spreads my legs apart. I want to move my free hand away, but my erection's need for attention is becoming unbearable. Unwillingly, I tighten my hold there and move my hand slowly, contradicting with the roughness Axel is using.

Third finger in. I scream, being stretched more than I wish to be. The more I attempt to fight against Axel's hand, the more my fingers wiggle inside me, causing me pain from the unwelcome feeling.

And that's when my tallest finger brushes against that special bundle of nerves.

"A-Ah..!" I toss my head back, lust seeping into my thoughts. "Ax-Axel..." I moan quietly. He groans in response, nibbling my collarbone and one of his fingers playing with my nipple. He redirects my fingers in a different angle, and from there on I can feel my fingers pounding against my prostate, wanton groans and mewls filling the air.

After what seems like an eternity of pleasure, I ejaculate, some of it streaming onto my chest. The demon removes his hand from mine, and I carefully remove my fingers, a slow, vile feeling overcoming my small thoughts. _What... What have I done?_

_~~~1908138~~~_

"Riku?"

"_Sora?"_

"Hey!"

"_...Sora, where are you?"_

"Where am I? Well... uh... I'm still... uh, still in the house Roxas is in..."

"_Sora, it shouldn't take you a day or so to drop off food."_

"I'm sorry, it's just... well... it's sort of hard to explain."

"_I've got all day."_

"Riku! I just can't explain it now, okay?"

"_Why not? What happened?"_

"Wha- nothing happened!" A nervous, short laugh, "Everybody's fine."

"_...You're lying."_

"Am not. Anyway, I have a favor to ask you."

"_Answer my question and **maybe **I'll do it."_

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask of you!"

"_Sora."_

"I-I'm sorry, Riku. I really can't tell you now. I have to make this quick."

"_Why?"_

Something dashes in his line of vision.

"What was...! Huh? Oh, Riku, I... Please. If Mom asks where I am, tell her I'm at your place. _Please!"_

"_Sora, what's going on over there?"_

"No-Nothing! Listen, I have to go. Please, please, please, please cover for me, please?"

"_Sora, don't you dare hang up on me."_

A low growl echos in the room.

"I-I'm sorry, Riku!"

"_Sora, wait-!"_

The line drops.

_~~~1908138~~~_

"I can't _believe _you!"

"_Why's it so hard to believe, babe? I thought we were having fun."_

"You forced me to fuck myself!"

"_Don't tell me you've never masturbated before." _He gazes over at me and smirks, _"Besides, you weren't putting up much resistance."_

I blink stupidly at him, sputtering incoherent sentences. How _dare _this stupid asshole! I fought against him all through that stupid charade, and tells me I didn't put up much _resistance_? Instead of responding, I glower at him while buttoning my pants back up. After finding my shirt, I'm startled to see him already dressed and pressing his ear against the door, listening in on something. I want to ask him what he's listening to, but that would involve talking to him, and I'm not ready to hear that _stupid _voice.

After a while, though, I hear it too.

"...uck him! I mean, this house is _big_. How are we s'posed to find a little brat? It's not like we have tracking devices in my minds. We haven't even seen the kid!"

"Ah, but the description he gave us was rather detailed, yeah?"

"Whatever. You look over here – I'm taking off to another part of the place."

"Don't get caught, Larxene."

"Like hell I will."

A pair of light footsteps fade off, and Axel gives off a low snarl, taking a few steps back. Both of our attentions are directed at the doorknob, which jiggles almost violently. Startled, I take a few steps back, and pause when I hear a soft sigh from behind the barrier. In the next second, the door flies off its hinges, and before I can even blink, Axel's blocked it off, sending the thin block of wood off to the side. I flinch, hearing it crack in two as if finally lays on the wooden planks, as if defeated. Peering back up at the demon, I'm surprised to see him still standing, his stance still strong.

"My, my, my, if it isn't the infamous Axel. Who let you out of your cage?" A dark, calm voice questions from the entryway.

"_I got out early for good behavior."_ The demon answers dryly. I don't even have to look at Axel to know he isn't happy. But the man before us chuckles, either not bright enough to notice the demon's tone, or simply doesn't care. I suppose the latter makes more sense. I lean my weight onto my right leg, grasping a glimpse of the man. Freakishly pink hair is all I can catch, and before I can blink, his soothing blue eyes trap mine. Immediately I keep out of the man's view, all too startled to stare the being in the eyes.

"I'm sure you did... and who is that beauty behind you?"

Axel backs up a little so he's really standing in front of me, sounding none too pleased. _"What's it to you?" _

"Ah," The man walks to the side of the room, getting a full picture of me. He smirks, "this must be _Roxas_." I don't like his tone. His voice confirms he's all too pleased to meet me. ...How does he even _know _me? I've never met this man in my entire life. Axel seems to catch onto the tone of his voice as well, because he snarls coldly, his arm out, blocking me from him.

"Now, now, lovely. Don't be so hasty. I simply have orders to return Roxas at once."

"_To?"_

"Xemnas, of course. And I can see _why _the man wants that little blond so much. He looks absolutely _delectable." _This causes the demon to show his teeth, reminding me of a protective dog. His stance screams that he is ready to _bite _this person's neck off... literally.

"_Stay the **fuck **away from him. Tell Xemnas that too. He's **mine**." _I scowl at his words, but I can't help it... I blush a little.

"You can't shield him forever, Axel... But that's besides the point. Why would you care what fate befalls this human?"

"_..." _The demon remains silent, and finally shakes his head, straightening up. _"I don't know. Why does Xemnas want him anyway?"_

"...Hmph. Why should I spill his plans?"

"_You never liked him, Marluxia. Why would you care about withholding his secrets?"_

"...I suppose you and Roxas alike have a right to know what he's up to." He sounds almost sarcastic, "Xemnas has this crazy idea that Roxas and his little friend, what's-his-face – the one with the brown hair – have strong enough hearts to withstand project Kingdom Hearts, and eventually we will be returned of our lives and hearts because of it."

"_I don't understand why he keeps trying."_

"It's Xemnas. The only thing that could ever understand is mind is Saïx."

Axel laughs, all traces of his anger fading off. Somewhat feeling it's okay to get closet, I trudge closer to Axel, practically leaning on him as I peek over at the man – Marluxia. He spots me and smirks.

"Do you like being around Axel?" He asks.

"...That would depend." I mumble. "Is this a trick question?"

"Maybe." Teasing me. I scowl at his bantering expression.

"Then I absolutely _love _to be around him!" _Not. _It's as clear as daylight that I'm sarcastic, but I smile a fake one and wrap my arms around the demon's hips. His body tenses under mine, before relaxing a little.

Marluxia grins. "Got yourself a keeper, you did, Axel."

"_Yeah, I guess so." _His arm slithers around my waist and he nudges me closer to him, his warm nose nuzzling the crook of my neck. Unintentionally, I feel the heat rising up in my face.

The pink-haired man scoffs, "Don't get lovey-dovey on me now. I still have to report your little boyfriend to the boss," his eyes cross to Axel's, "...but I guess I can act as though I've never seen you two."

"_Seriously?" _

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"_Thanks Marly. I owe you." _The redhead is smiling even more, and I have to admit – he does have a nice, pure smile. After that, though, they talk like normal friends. I don't even catch on to anything they're speaking about now, because I can't help but let my mind wander. My mind wanders to what Marluxia had said earlier – Kingdom Hearts. Sora... and me... our hearts were supposed to complete this project and _give _hearts back to everyone else? How would this Xemnas extract our "hearts" anyway? It's not like he can cut us open without murdering us...

Is that why Axel was so angry?

I frown. How does Xemnas even know about me or Sora? It's not like he's met either one of us.

_~~~1908138~~~_

When Dad invited his friends to the house, he always told me to stay in my room. I didn't understand why. I only met them once or twice, and they seemed rugged and lonesome men, but nice. I remember when Dad was busy getting something, he'd shout for me to answer the door. They were gentlemen... but Dad didn't seem to want me around them. _"Go play, Roxas, and let the adults talk._" He especially invited Sora's father and they would talk while the brunette and I played. Well, he tried to play. I didn't really enjoy being with him. But it was better than no company, because on those days I'd become lonely and exhausted.

Now I have the same feeling. Axel and Marluxia both chat in their conversations, but they don't acknowledge me. Even Axel has loosened his grip to the point where I easily wiggle out from him, and he doesn't seem to notice nor care.

"Larxene's still as a bitch as ever." The pink-haired man comments.

"_I bet." _the redhead muses, laughing to himself, _"she isn't too much to handle, yeah?"_

"We're talking about Larxene."

"_Right, I forgot. The Queen of the Bitches," _both share a laugh.

I exhale softly, wishing not to listen any longer. My thoughts trail off and on to Demyx and Sora. Did they murder each other? I can imagine both blood-worn, snarling at each other and attacking with the most violent techniques. Maybe Sora would win, and Demyx's undead corpse would lie still on the floor, his aqua eyes sharp and open, but staring blankly into death. Or maybe Demyx would win, and the situation would be switched. _No, stop that! _Shuddering at the mere thought, I fix my focus to my parents. Mom must be worried sick. Maybe she called Hayner's mother to talk to me, ask me if I'm okay and where Sora might be. I can almost picture Hayner trying to reach my cell phone, pissed that he got caught and I'm not turning up.

What would he do in this situation?

He'd run. I know for sure he'd run.

I sigh and press the palms of my hands against my face. I'm so... so _tired. _My eyes warily study the room, and I'm about to lie down and maybe fall asleep, but suddenly I catch onto something. The door frame is without a barrier. I switch my gaze to the demon, but his back is to me. The pink-haired man looks too engrossed to really notice if I run off... My eyes snap back to the entryway.

Should I?

"...nd I talked to Xaldin earlier. Said something abo... Roxas?"

I curse, half my body out the door. Without looking back, without thinking, I trample down the corridor, my sight becoming impaired as I enter the darkness. Something's missing, though. In all the times that I've panicked, I've always had a heartbeat filling the silence. It's pure quiet now. Nervously, I press my thumb over the pulse on my wrist, and still running, I feel for any sort of beating.

It isn't thumping. I frown. My heart should be out of control.

"_Roxas!" _Axel shouts. I pause in my steps, almost too frightened to move any farther, but force myself over that fear and dart forward, turning corners and avoiding slamming into the wall. _"**Roxas, **get back here!" _I have to hide. Shivers rush down my spine as I hear his footsteps drawing nearer. I have to escape somewhere, or else... Shaking my head of the possible thought of my death, I turn another corner, my eyes scanning _everywhere_.

A door catches my sight. Settling on that one very door at the end of the hallway, I push my leg power to its maximum, my fingers grazing over the doorknob.

_I'm sorry, Roxas. _Naminé?

As I jerk the doorknob around, a lock clicks into place. My eyes widen. No... no! It was open! I-I... it was open! Slamming my fists on the door, I try the doorknob again, but to no avail, only being able to feel it rattle upon my force. "Damn it, open up!" I scream.

_It's for your own good. _She whispers... behind the door?

"_...Roxas." _Axel snarls, so close I can feel his rough breath on my neck. I cry out in surprise and spin around, my whole frame shaking at the appearance of the redhead. No trace of mirth hides within his eyes, but instead a fiery glow illuminates them. He's baring his teeth and his fists are clenched.

"Roxas! Ax...el..." Marluxia trails off, turning the corner and spotting us both. I ignore him and back up, only for him to take a step closer. As I feel a corner pressing on my back, I whimper slightly.

_Dead end._

* * *

**A/N: HOLYCRAPDIDIACTUALLYUPDATE?**

**Yes I did. :3 Now, now, no autographs, please. **

**I don't know about this chapter. :\ I feel like I went over-the-top in the beginning, y'know, with that sex scene. I dunno. Originally, I had only meant to give a small lime, and then go on to the phone call conversation, but I decided, "Well, fuck." so I wrote it. ; _ ; Food for thoughts, anyone?**

**If you're wondering, Roxas had to suck Axel off in return.  
I got lazy and didn't want to write it.**

**AkuRokuStalker: No blowing things up, dear. That means you'll NEVER get the next chapter, HAHAHHAHAHhahahahah -coughcough- :DD**

**Commandomomo: I love you too. -insertrandomhearthereplz-**

**Fun Fact: Axel always seemed to have the voice that screamed _italicize, _so all throughout the rest of the story he will be talking _like this_.**

**Reviews are the sliced to my bread. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

_I remember a time_

_when ghosts were fairy-tales._

_And I'd say,_

"_Nu-uh! You liar! Demons aren't real!"_

_And he'd answer back,_

"_How do you know?"_

_~~~1908138~~~_

With his hands on either side of me, trapping me like a dirty rat, Axel leers down at me. His eyes are ablaze with fire from the depths of Hell. If it's not my imagination doing the tricking, the shadows in his face have grown darker. He looks gaunt. I can see the skeleton print of his face, as if he hasn't eaten a thing since last year. His lip is curled back as well, giving me a pretty view of his sharpened wolverine teeth.

"_Enlighten me, Roxas. Where were you planning on going?"_

Shit. I've royally screwed myself over. He isn't going to be satisfied with any explanation I throw out at him. I panic slightly, and turn my head to Marluxia. He's gone. That bastard... He left me with Axel. Alone.

"_Well?" _The demon presses, his glare smoldering me. I can't look him in the eye. Instead, I focus on his thin eyebrows, fumbling with my shirt in between my fingers. If I were younger, I'd probably slide down on my butt and start crying. I have to wonder, even if I did look stupid, would be stop looking like he wants to skin me alive if I did make that example? Surely he would have the heart to look less cold at my weakest point... But... I don't think I will. It would be humiliating to bow that low to the likes of this demon.

"I... I..."

"_My patience is growing thin, Roxas." _He warns in a dangerous, low tone. His levels his glare at me, until I'm forced to stare into those green orbs. I can see my reflection in them. I look... blank. Is that how he's seeing me right now? A blank human being? Nothing more than an empty, dumb soul possessing this body? I bite my lip and try to show some sort of emotion, and all I can muster up is timidness.

I still cannot utter a single noise in response.

"_**Well?" **_He shouts, punching the wall just a hair next to my head. The thin wood crumbles next to me, some of it brushing against my ear. I yelp, a series of shivers taking its course down my spine. I _know _he didn't hit me. He didn't injure me. But... I have a feeling he only missed by _accident. _That hit was too close to be called a warning.

"I-I'm... I'm s-sorry..." I whisper, unable to hide the fear drowning in my words. Without thinking, my fingers, trembling with fright, slowly grasp his wrist, as if trying to reassure myself that he isn't going to punch me. His eyes bore into my features, while I can do nothing but gaze down at the floor, feeling absolutely pathetic. How would my cousin take this? I could see him escaping from Axel and running and laughing. Hayner would get up in the demon's face and possibly die. Probably. Tifa would roll her eyes at the redhead's dramatic anger. And me? The one who never believed in a single ghost tale and never became spooked at the Boy Scout campfires? The one who told everyone he could stand up to a ghost and make him cry for his ma? Well, here I am, broken and seeming to be dead. No heartbeat. I'm... I'm dead. What... What has he _done _to me?

"_You're sorry?" _His laugh is without humor, _"You're **sorry. **Why do I get the feeling you're only saying this because you very well damn know I can rip you up to shreds? You're **not **sorry. You know, I think I should leave you here. Yeah, _that _sounds like a plan." _My eyes widen as he rips his wrist from my hand and backs up, sending me a cruel smile. _"You want to go? Go. No one can see you. You're fucking dead. As far as I know, you'll be dead for the rest of eternity. So leave. Oh, but let's not forget about the _others. _The ones that are hunting you down at this moment. Saïx, that blue-haired freak? Yeah, he's one of them. He's probably waiting for you in the shadows at this very moment. Once you're out of my line of vision, goodbye. You will **never **escape from Xemnas. You will disappear; you'll be nothing." _His tone suddenly lightens up as he turns his back to me, but I can sense the irritation, _"But, if I'm wrong, and you get out, send me a postcard. Go haunt a flowerpot or something, because I promise you, Roxas, _no one _will welcome you. No one welcomes the dead."_

And that's how he takes his leave. I stand there, unable to wipe the shocked look from my face, watching him walk down the corridor and disappear into the darkness. I'm... I'm free?

No. I'm not. Not from this house.

But... I'm free from him. No more Axel.

No more Axel?

After a few seconds, I begin to glare at the empty space. Okay, fine. He can go and leave. I don't need his help. I never needed his help in the first place... I got into this house, and I can sure as hell escape from it. I don't need him. I'm _glad _he's gone. I'm glad...

Right?

I shake my head, frowning. No, I am right. No more Axel means I don't ever have to see that moron ever again. It's what I've been yearning for... So... Why do I feel _guilty? _I shouldn't. He's a demon. A Nightmare, as Zexion had put out. He doesn't deserve my sympathy, more or less should I let the likes of him get to me.

I sigh. Whatever. My gaze lifts up as I study the break in the wall, before taking a few timid steps. It's completely black, though there is one lamp nailed to the wall, flickering with a dim bulb. I wonder why I never noticed it before. The doors all look ancient and I can tell it won't tell me much if I waste my time passing into every room. I have to find my way out.

Wait... I can't. What am I thinking? I can't leave Demyx and Sora yet. I have to know if they are alright. Now, let's see... Where would they be? Replaying the events the night before, I run my fingers through my hair. Axel fooled Sora into thinking Demyx would kill me. Demyx escaped. The demon told him...

My eyes widen. "Shit." The basement.

_~~~1908138~~~_

_Would this lead to the basement? It seems like it, but maybe it's another empty room. He sighs, wishing Axel told him more specific directions. Maybe Saix would pop out and help him. But... does he really want to see that mutt? No, that's for sure. And he'll look like a helpless wimp if he keeps reverting to the ghosts for help. No, Sora _knows _this is where Demyx is hiding. It has to be. _

_The stairs fade down into darkness. Why is this house so dark? Everything was burnt, but if this house can still stand strong, where's all the lanterns or candles? The light shining in through the dusty windows aren't much help, though it does make him feel better that the sun is _still _shining, and not swallowed up into the black like the rest of these rooms. He sort of wishes he could go outside right now and lie down on his back in the grass. It would feel like Heaven if he could feel the sun soak up his pale cheeks. He's getting too white – almost as ghostly as Roxas. No, Sora likes to be tan. Tan and proud. _

_The brunette rolls his eyes. He's rambling off into his own little world. He has a job to do, and once he kills off Demyx and those _horrible _things that follow him, then Sora can go back upstairs, collect Roxas, and they both can make a break for it. Hell, he might even keep the Keyblade – it's an interesting enough weapon. And it would be _awesome _to show off all the moves he didn't even know he could do. _

_Smiling to himself, the boy stays silent as he creeps down the steps, his weapon up, ready to smack any nearby ghouls. So far, so clear. No monsters jumping out to rip off his flesh. Halfway down, he gazes back up at the door though. He almost expects some sort of disgusting zombie-thing to appear at the tippy-top of it, looking down with a sick, half-smiling face and saliva mixed with blood dripping from its mouth. And yet, nothing stands there. He sighs._

_As he reaches the bottom, his fingers graze the wall, in search for a light switch. Once he locates one, immediately he switches it on, his weapon up, ready to bash the ghosts' heads. No one appears. _

"_Demyx! Come out with your hands up!" Sora commands, imagining he's a policeman, cornering a thief. "C'mon, Demyx, I don't have all day." _

_Still, no answer._

_The brunette glares at the clear air. He trudges over to the strange, comfortable-looking bed in the middle of the room and settles down on it, his weapon laying on his lap and his feet swinging slightly. It feels so unprofessional, but it's all he can do now. Maybe he could go check the other rooms, yet it doesn't seem like a good idea. Axel _did _say Demyx would most likely hide out here. So, the question is, where is he?_

_What feels like hours pass. How could a dead being have so much stamina, hiding and all? Sora groans loudly, lying back and scooting more into the middle of the bed. A window is off to the side, and as he turns his head towards it, he doesn't find himself surprised to see it being night. Is Riku covering for him? He wonders if Mom bought the flawless lies that silverette can come up with. She probably did. But for how long does he have until she becomes suspicious? The last thing he wants is his parents to barge into the house like madmen and be at risk. _

_A surge of anger runs through the teenager. It doesn't need to be this long! All he needs to do is make a few little ghosties disappear, and then find Roxas. Then they can leave. It's a two-hour mission, three hours at most, but it's taking more than half a day. It shouldn't be this hard. In all those violent, disturbing video games, those characters only needed one night to visit Hell and get a souvenir. He's not even facing the Devil and this is taking way too long! _

_Burying his face into the burnt-smelling blankets, it doesn't dawn how tired he feels until his conscious state blackens out. _

_~~~1908138~~~_

"_Sora..." A voice cooes. So sweet-sounding. _

"_Mmm..." The brunette responds, curling up into a ball position. _

"_Sora, doll. Wake up... You can go to sleep again once you open your eyes..." _

_He's tired. And if he can go to sleep again, he's all for it. So as those baby-blue orbs open, his vision isn't too sharp. Of course it's not. He's exhausted. After he blinks a few times, his focus centers on one face. That charming redhead. _

_Axel._

_~~~1908138~~~_

I spot the stairs. Taking two at a time, I speed down them, my gaze eying the kitchen. My foot slams on something slippery, and I find myself scrambling down the rest of the steps, trying to steady myself. I gaze back up, and for a moment, I decide it's not worth the effort to try and see what tripped me, but a light catches the corner of my eye. Double-taking what it is, I spot my cell phone. Blood coats half of it, and yet, I can see the bright white letters, "Eleven missed calls!" scanned on it. Curiosity getting the better of me, I approach the phone, leaning back to pick it up. Five of them are from Sora. The rest seem to be from my parents, along with a few text messages from my worried mother.

My eyes widen. Mom has to help! She'll come over, and she'll see the ghosts. And then she can call up the rest of the town, and we can get Sora and tear this little house into a million little jabs and sticks of wood.

Dialing her number at top speed, I smash the phone against my face, praying none of my uncles are over, and my mother is the only one that answers.

The phone picks up on the first ring.

"_Hello?" _My mother answers, sounding as though she's out of breath.

"Mom, it's me! Listen, uh, I'm sorry I missed your calls and all, but you'll nev-"

"_Hel-lo? Is someone there?"_

"M-Mom...?"

"_...Hello?" _I listen to her sigh, and the line disconnects. I blink. I should've known this. I... am so stupid. I'm dead – how could I except a phone to pick up my voice? Especially since my mother is alive. She can't hear me.

The phone drops from my fingers, but I can barely hear it clatter on the wooden steps. I'm dead, so will Sora be able to see me? To hear me?

Stupid questions. He can see Axel and Demyx. He'll be able to recognize me.

Turning on my heel, I rush down the rest of the steps and exit into the kitchen. There's the basement. The door is closed. I walk up to it, and as I clutch onto the doorknob, my attempts to open it fails. Great, it's locked.

"Sora!" I shout, slamming my fists on the door. It rattles, but nothing else. "Sora, c'mon! Open up! Demyx? Are you in there?"

"Hm. Is the pet finally abandoned by its owner?" A cold voice comments. I freeze. "It's about time. Xemnas is an impatient man, you know." I hesitant, but turn my body around. That blue-haired demon stands. The hairs on the back of my neck straighten up as I connect eyes with that beast. His lips curl back, revealing yellowing, rotting teeth. Sharp as Axel's, they glimmer with what little light is beaming in from the windows, but they don't shine. "We must be going. Say your goodbyes to your freedom."

I pale as he advances towards me. I can't seem to move. My whole body is locked in place as he walks in front of me and smirks.

"You'll like your new home, Roxas." He says. "You'll be fed and exercised, all while helping us complete Project Kingdom Hearts. Once it is accomplished, we will have no further use to you, and you will be returned of your freedom... in death."

The words sink in, and the first thing I can do is run. I do get a running start, for about three seconds, before sharp nails clutch my neck, and I'm forcefully shoved against the wall. My head bangs against wall, and a painful ache echoes throughout my skull. With no thought, I thrash against the blue-haired demon, desperate to escape from him. All I'm returned with is another slam against the wall. It feels like my head is cracking open...

And it's gone. I slide down to the floor, my eyes rolling back in my head. An animalistic growl mirrors in the room, as once I can regain my vision, I see that fiery red hair. A glimmer of relief is in my heart, though I can't seem to hold onto it. Pain is overwhelming my senses. I close my eyes, the ache ceasing a little.

"Why are you protecting this _brat_? I thought you disposed of him." I hear Saïx snarl. He sounds out of breath.

"_Hmph. So you were spying on us. In that case..." _The animal howls in pain, and I force my eyes to open, unable to ignore my urge to watch. _"I'm _not _protecting him. I just feel like making Xemnas's life a little more harder. Make sure to tell Xemmy that, alright? I know you'll deliver the message." _The demon replies. His foot is planted on the blue-haired creature's chest, seeming to be digging deeper and deeper with every word.

"How are you so sure I'll tell Xemnas?" Saïx groans, his fingernails engraving into Axel's ankle.

"_'Cause when they find your non-existent body on the floor, they'll know _exactly _who did it." _My eyes grow wide as the redhead removes his foot and, with no hesitation, smashes his foot into the skull of the animal. Blood splatters a little on the floor, and stains his shoe, but his stance proves that he isn't disgusted by it. I shudder, wincing as he withdraws his foot from the cracked head and his eyes suddenly narrow down at me.

A tense air falls upon the atmosphere. We both say nothing, and as he takes his time walking towards me, I grow more and more tense. Finally he squats down in front of me, using his hand to steady himself. Blood coats his sleeve now that it touches his shoe.

"A-Axel..." I mumble, unable to take the silence anymore. He watches me with critical eyes.

"_Hm. What are you doing down here, blondie?" _He grunts. His expression never wavers.

"I-I... I was looking for S-Sora..."

"_Your cousin? Huh. Well, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but he's dead."_

I blink, my blank expression still staying the same. "Excuse me?"

"_Your cousin." _He growls, slow, as if speaking to a two-year old, _"Is dead." _

I don't know what to think. I don't know how to react. It's not possible. Sora can't die. He is way too young. I stare at Axel, looking for any hint of him lying. He's stone serious.

"You're lying." I whisper, though I know it's a lie.

"_You wanna go visit his body?" _

I can't answer. I wouldn't answer, even if I could. Instead, I stare down at the floor, my lungs refusing to breathe in. It's not like I need the air, but it makes me feel more human to breathe. I can feel myself getting choked up, and no matter how hard I try to stop it from happening, tears begin to glisten up in my eyes.

"_...Roxas?" _

Sora. My cousin. My best friend.

Is dead.

"_Roxas?" _He's speaking so loud...

This isn't supposed to happen.

This isn't how it goes.

A stupid dare caused all of this.

My best friend...

Sora is dead.

As Axel leans closer to me, a part of me urges myself to slap him away and screech at him. Another part of my mind wants to nudge him away and cry silently. However, instead of those two options, I end up throwing my arms around Axel and crying against him. I can sense how confused he is. I almost expect him to shove me away. It doesn't seem to make sense when he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his lap.

Nothing makes sense anymore.

* * *

**A/N: HEY, I UPDATED. HOSHITAPOCALYPSE. **

**Okay, I have some explaining to do! You wanna know why I haven't updated in like... a month?**

**Procrastination.**

**And the fact that I've got like... eight hundred million school projects to finish in three weeks. :P **

_**READ THIS PLEASE:**_** I edited chapter six. Where Sora talks about Ventus and Roxas being clones and stuff. Ventus is edited out, because IF the story ends the way I'm thinking, then a sequel could be possible. But I don't know. All I know is Ventus is gone, so ERASE that sexy blonde from your mind.**

**Listened to "The Package" by A Perfect Circle.**

**AkuRokuStalker: Damn, woman. You are the most impatient fan I've ever had in my entire life. Well, I guess I should dedicate this chapter to you, since you like... spammed my review messages. So there. -Takes back yaoi stash- **

**Commandomomo: ****I HOPE THEY CAN BE TOGETHER. THAT WILL BE SO AWESOME. -doesntevenknowmyself- XD Oh, doll, you know you gotta scream to the world that you love me!~ C: Then MAYBE I might update a LITTLE faster~~~**

**OH, REALLY QUICKLY: I need questions! Any question you would like Axel or Roxas to answer, yell at me about them, okay! Don't worry, it's not a questionair-thingy that I don't usually like. You'll see soon! Thanks!~**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"_You liar! You know demons aren't real!" I growl, glaring at the boy. It infuriates me to see him smiling._

"_Then go into the house." He dares, a smirk still on those pink lips. My scowl falters as I cast my gaze upon the house. _The _house. "I mean, if you aren't scared, and demons aren't real, then go in. You shouldn't have a thing to worry about." He's teasing me. I clench my fists, really because it's all I can do. I'm torn between going in to prove him wrong, or telling him he's a complete imbecile and declining. Shifting my gaze to him, my mind makes itself up the moment I catch his feral grin._

"_F-Fine! I'll go in the damn house."_

"_Ah, ah. No, we have to make a bet, yeah? Stay in that house... for a week." _

"_You're kidding. Ma will totally kill me!"_

"_Aw, is the little baby going to use his mama as an excuse?" Seifer is going way to far this time. _

"_No!" I snarl, "I'll go in the damn house, and I'll prove to you. Demons aren't _real._"_

_I turn my back to him and stomp back to my house. I jerk the screen door open, seeing as it's the only door closed, and slam it behind me._

"_Axel, what are you doing?" Ma calls from the kitchen. I bite my lip, all the anger vanishing from me. Maybe Mama will understand. She'll understand this is a man thing, and that I'm a man, and I have to prove myself. She has to understand. Pa told her to be understanding. _

"_Nothin', Ma... Uh... I-I need t'ask you something." I shout, trudging out of the small sun-room and walking through the living room. There's Mama, in the kitchen, cooking something mighty tasty. Smells like roast turkey, but I'm not sure. Her apron's stained with raw blood, and the butcher knife isn't helping my nerves, but I manage to smile. She turns to me and smiles back._

"_What's on your mind, hon?" Mama asks, wiping the knife with a cloth and spraying water on it. Her back's to me, making it a little easier to breathe._

"_Mama... I, uh... You know Seifer, right? The one who's always pickin' fights with me?"_

"_Oh, dear, you didn't get into _another _fight with that boy, did you?"_

"_No, no! I mean, well, we almost did, but anyway, Mama, I have to ask you something important." When I say this, she stops washing the knife and puts it away, and turns to me, her full attention directed to me. I swallow. "Well, um, Mama, Seifer dared me to uh, to spend a week's worth of nights in a house..."_

"_What house?" Something about her tone is turning more dark._

"_Uh, well... Th-The house on the end of the street-"_

"_No." Her sharp words cut through me as she turns back to cooking, her body tense, and even though I expected the answer, I can't help but feel a little rage. She didn't even let me explain myself._

"_Why not?" I demand. She whips her bright red hair over her shoulder and twists her neck a little, enough to let me see those bright green eyes narrow down at me. _

"_Because I told you, boy. Go wash your hands. Dinner's almost done."_

"_But Ma-"_

"_I _said, _go wash your hands." Her stare is fiery, and it's enough to cause fear in my being. Mama's scary when she's angry. Her eyelids peel back a little more, and she always seems to be holding a kitchen item, which turns into a weapon for her. And that blood isn't really that great for show. I grab the stool from under the sink in the cabinet and tug it out. Hopping on it, I slip some soap into my palms and begin to wash my hands. _

_Someday I'll be tall. I'll be a giant – I'll tower over Mama, and she'll know I'm a man then. She'll know I'm no fourteen year old boy. I'm a man, a man that can handle anything and protect her and care for her. And I'll be able to prove Seifer wrong – that there aren't any ghosts or demons hiding around. And when I'm a man, if I ever do find those ghosts, I'll laugh in their faces, because I'll be big and strong. Not a weakling like I am now. _

_Placing the stool back where it came from, I jump down the steps and sit down to eat with Mama. In the chair next to me, Pa should be sitting there. He should. But I know he's not, and even if I wish with all my might, that Anglo-Aro War isn't leaving any time soon, and Pa won't be home until then. I can't wait for him to see how old I am now. He'd understand._

"_G'night, baby." Mama says to me, kissing my forehead once dinner is done. I whisper goodnight back, and head on to my room. Once I'm in my own personal space, I close the door quietly and jump on the bed, leaning towards the window frame. Outside the glass, the moon is full and high. Right in front of it is the dreaded house. I don't understand what's so scary about it. Something happened there – nobody talks about it. Even Seifer's been keepin' his mouth shut about it, but I'm beginning to think he's been pulling my leg. What could be so scary about it? Besides, it's new. Been standing up for a few years, I think. And in this small town, what's the worst that could've happened? _

_A pebble hits the windowpane. I blink and gaze down, spotting the black beanie and bare feet in the grass._

"_Seifer..." I groan, tugging it open. "What do you want?" _

"_C'mon, short-stuff! You gonna go sleep over there?" He shouts, and for a moment, I'm terrified someone might here him. Still, I respond as loud._

"_...I... I don't know, Seif..."_

"_Aw, don't tell me Mama told her Mama's boy he can't go sleep at an itty-bitty house for seven days." He laughs, causing me to glare._

"_No, she didn't say that!"_

"_Then why ain't you going?"_

"_...I..." Gosh, what do I say? "I'll be down in a few!"_

_Closing the window back up, I bite my lip hard enough for it to bleed. What am I doing? Mama will skin me alive if she figures out I'm sleeping over at that house, after she told me not to. But Seifer's getting me so mad... I have to show him up, or he'll never live this down. Okay, relax. He said to spend the nights over there. So I'll stay up in that house until six, sneak out and back into my house, crawl past Mama's room, get into bed, and go to sleep for an hour until Ma wakes me up for school. Then, I'll go to the schoolhouse, sleep during lunch, go home and do my homework, and start it all over again. It's brilliant._

_Gathering a few items together, enough to keep me occupied, I stuff them all in a bag and grab my basketball. It's a little hard, but in the end, the sheets and the basketball looks like the silhouette of me under the covers. I exhale quietly and walk over to the door. _

_No noise outside. Maybe Mama went to sleep earlier. Peeking it open, just a little, I gaze through the crack. The lights are off. _

_I tip-toe out of my room and gently close it shut. So far, so good. Continuing my slow pace, I travel down the stairs and pass the kitchen._

"_...but I don't know what to do with him, Charolette. I mean, he's already getting in trouble at school, and now he's wanting to go spend the night at that _house!"

_Oh no. Mama's sitting on the sofa in the living room. I can hear her on the phone, sighing dramatically. "No, Char. He's too young to know what happened there... Well, what do you expect me to do? Wake him up right now and explain about that poor constructor? It'll scare him to bits! … Okay, if you think it's so easy, you come up here and tell him about it!"_

_I listen to her laugh a little, and then they begin talking about some ship huge ship that's being built somewhere out of this area. Daring to lift my head, I almost sigh aloud in relief. Her back is to the front door. _

_Tip-toeing silently past her, I squeeze my eyes shut until I reach the door. Casting one last look, I open the door and click it behind me with a quiet nod. _

"_Man, thought you were never gonna come down here!" Seifer groans, meeting me in the middle of the street. _

"_Sorry, I couldn't find something." I lie._

"_Yeah, yeah. Okay, we never really went though the details of the bet, yeah? Okay, so you're going to spend a week in that house-"_

"_School tomorrow, remember?"_

"_Ugh... Fine, okay, you spend nights at the house. I'm gonna send one of my boys to watch you, in case you decide to leave early or something stupid like that. If you get through the whole week, I'll admit ghosts and demons ain't real."_

"_And you have to go to school with nothing but your underwear!"_

"_Hey, hey! Why should I do that?"_

_I grin, "It's more fun."_

"_Yeah, whatever. Fine. _But, _if you can't go through the whole week, you have to get on your hands and knees and kiss up to me." It's his turn to smile cruelly. "We got ourselves a deal?"_

"_...Ye-Yeah." We both spit in our hands and shake on it, our eyes boring into each others. _

_Whistling, Seifer turns his head. A boy emerges from the shadows, one with a strange mullet for hair. His blue eyes sparkle when he spots me._

"_Axel, meet Demyx. Demyx, this is Axel."_

"_Nice t'meetcha!" The blond, Demyx, greets, shaking my hand. I raise an eyebrow._

"_Hello, Demyx."_

"_Demyx here's gonna keep an eye on you, right Dem?" Seifer pulls the new blond into a headlock, both of them laughing. For some reason, I feel oddly out of place._

"_Yes, sir, mister Seifer, sir!"_

"_Good. Alright, I'm tired. Have fun, Axe." That's the older blond's parting words, and before I can blink, he's turning away and walking back down the street. That leaves me with this new boy, one I've never seen or heard before. Where did he come from? As far as I know, everybody knows everyone in this town. Is he a newcomer, from somewhere else?_

"_It's cold out – let's go!" Demyx whines, grabbing onto my arm and dragging me down the street. I twist my head, giving one last longing glance to my house, but double-take and gasp, my blood running cold._

_Mama's staring at me from the window._

_Without thinking, I snatch the boy's hand in a tight grip and speed down the street, adrenaline powering me as I practically kick down the door of my new "home" and slam the door shut. My whole frame is shaking. Mama saw me. She saw me outside with Seifer. She witnessed me running down the street towards this God-forbidden house. Mama _saw _me._

"_Wh-What was that for?" The blond cries out, rubbing his injured fingers, staring at me with nervousness. _

"_N-Nothin'..." I lie, still shaking slightly. "It was nothin'..."_

_~~~1908138~~~_

"Axel?" I mumble.

The redhead hums in response, the low rumble in his throat somewhat comforting. I nuzzle my freezing nose into the nape of his neck, finding myself thankful that his body temperature stays at a steady a hundred degrees, "I-I'm sorry..."

"_For _what?_" _The redhead asks. A hint of anger still resides in his tone, puzzling me. I try to ignore though, and attempt to sort out my troubled mind.

"...F-For running away... I-I mean, y'know... if I never tried to escape, none of this would've happened..." I close my eyes, meaning every word. I do regret leaving, and not only because my cousin is dead. That thing eating my earlier is growing more and more by the second with tick of the clock I'm with him. It's irritating me to the point where I'm practically desperate to relieve it. "I wa-was just scared... Y-You understand, right?" I lift my head from his shoulder, looking into his eyes. He's stares back, his blank expression turning more dark.

"_Ah, Roxas, Roxas, Roxas..." _He shakes his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, _"You don't get it, do you? I _murdered _Sora. That means he's gone. Never gonna be alive. No one's ever gonna see him _ever _again. And you're apologizing to _me?" He snorts, narrowing his eyes, _"I expected anything but that. Shouldn't you be cursing my name, running away to find that little spirit you so fondly hold hands with? Who's to say I haven't killed him, either? Roxas, I'm a _killer. _I killed every single person in this fucking house. I'm the one to be apologizing... Not like I will, though." _

I wince. Not quite the response I was actually envisioning.

"I..."

"_Huh." _He smirks, a cruel expression coming into view, _"You're beginning to look scared. I can see it. Your pretty little eyes get bigger, and you tighten your grasp. Are you scared of me, Roxas?"_

"No." I snarl, staring down at my hands. That's... not completely a lie.

"_Why don't I believe you?" _He taunts.

"Because you only hear what you want to hear." Glaring, I feel my missing heart pause in a beat as I connect eyes with him. That dangerous look embedded within the green never fails to catch my breath, and not in the greatest way.

"_Not a very nice thing to say to someone who saved your ass from being mauled." _

"And someone who happened to _kill _my cousin."

We share the same scowl, and now it dawns on me why I wanted to leave. This man is infuriating, and any sort of companionship we somewhat created is all lost. Crawling off of me, I pull myself to my feet and walk towards the living room. I make it halfway before my footsteps begin to slow, and I stop all together right next to the staircase. A thought pounds against my mind. _Where the hell am I going? _Not the brightest thing I've done in my entire life. I'm trapped in this house with a few godawful demons hunting me for _something, _another demon who's not capable of handling his anger, and very few ghosts that actually _want _to help me.

A hand clamps down on my shoulder, and the redhead turns me around,_ "Come on, short-stuff."_

Bitter anger causes me to retort, "Why would I follow you, fire-crotch?"

The demon in front of me snickers, _"Fire-crotch? Nice one. Anyway, I'm taking you back to that sexy Zexy. They can do what they want with you. I'm done." _

I frown, my heart twisting, though I'm unsure why, "Yo-You're... done?"

"_You're a good fuck and everything, but there's no way I'm gonna stay with you for another hour," _he sends me a sideways smirk, _"I'm sure the feeling is mutual?"_

"Ye...Yeah..." I reply, not as enthusiastic as I meant it to be. Shouldn't I be excited? I'll get to go back to Zexion and Demyx, and never have to worry about this asshole ever again... But he doesn't make any sense. I remember him saying to Marluxia how I was his... I don't want to sound so pained. It shouldn't bother me. And yet, I have to wonder, if he's spent so much time trying to "claim" me, why is he giving up so easily?

* * *

**A/N: Totally changed the last part because I can.**

_The Stone _by ASHES dIVIDE **is what I listened to.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

**~~~IMPORTANT!~~~ Go back to Chapter 14, I changed a LOT in the last bit with Axel and Roxas. If you don't, this chapter will make absolutely no sense.**

* * *

Trailing behind this red-haired demon with the darkness rising, I have to admit it's becoming slightly disturbing. Axel, the big bad demon, is still pissed at me. His anger killed my best friend, and if we're all alone... I gulp, trying not to let my fear show. I have to continue to remind myself that if he wanted me dead, he would've done so a long time ago, but I can't help but have my doubts. He's a demon, after all. There's no telling what's going on in his mind. And... another thing. I hate to admit it, I really do, but for the past ten minutes, I've had the urge to hold his hand more than I'd like to say. It's... unbelievably out of this world. I can't guess on why I'm hurt when I replay his words in my head, our conversation running like a cycle. Is it criminal to want him on better terms with me once more?

"Ax-Axel?" My voice quivers. Noticing the depressing tone, I mentally kick myself. Way to go, dumbass. He's sure to make fun of that.

"_Hm?" _I frown at his absentmindedness. Had I actually been hopeful that he'd be back to his old self again?

"Ah, uh... N-Nothing." _Smooth. _He probably thinks I'm more retarded than I already am.

As our journey to wherever Demyx is carries on, I notice his hands are curled up into fists again. His pace is quickening to the point where I have to half-job to keep up. How the hell do I keep pissing him off?

_~~~1908138~~~_

Amber eyes flash. "Goddamn him!"

The dead man nods, keeping his eyes lowered, "I saw everything..."

"Anything else you'd like to add?" That nasally tone irritates him, but he bites his lip to hold back an insult and shakes his head, meeting neither stare from both men. He only wants to leave now. He's already said enough, having already _seen _enough, and any more information will get both himself and the others dead. _Why me...? _A sharp hit to the stomach drags him out of his own hosting of a pity party. Doubling over, his eyes widen from the sudden pain and a sharp gasp draws from his mouth. The one behind him sneers, "I don't believe you."

"I-I told you everything!" He cries out, shielding away from the old man behind him. Vexen narrows his gleaming eyes in disbelief.

"You're lying, my dear. Tell ourleader what _else_ is new."

He stares down at the tile, unable to scratch up his voice. Damn it all to Hell. He can only pray the boy will not be a mistake and a disappointment. Clearing his throat, he closes his eyes, trying to block his own voice from his ears, "Ro-Roxas's heart is still captivated in his chest, despite Axel's failed attempts to take it for himself... and it seems he now holds the powers Sora had once held... The boy is our only ch-chance..."

"And...?" Vexen draws out the word, smirking with a mischief smile.

How can he rat out the boy like this? He feels disgust with himself, "And I c-can bring Roxas to you..."

"Roxas?" Xemnas inquires, a delicate smile on his lips. It doesn't seem to fit, and succeeds in being a bit more horrific than intended, "I knew he was so special, but I could have never foreseen... Such delicious news. You shall bring the boy to me before dawn. You're dismissed, Zexion."

_~~~1908138~~~_

"What do you make of this 'Roxas', sir?"

"I'm not sure just yet," The silver-haired man mumbles this, not as enthusiastic with his plans as he had been. Dare he say he was looking forward to ruling the world with his pet, he might actually acquire an urge to hunt that damned demon from Hell and rip the redhead's limbs off, one by one. But he hasn't a heart, and one without a heart cannot feel emotions such as despair and total hatred. He can't even recall ever feeling an emotion, unless the empty void in his chest _is _an emotion. The blueprints on his desk lay scattered about, and as he turns to gaze at it, he grits his teeth. Messy, messy...

"Will he be able to provide enough support for the plans?" Vexen continues, holding a paper in front of his face. Ingredients for the next potion, he's sure Marluxia would have some flower petals...

God, he's annoying. "I cannot say," Xemnas growls, his back turned to the blonde. _Just leave already. _His least favorite member of the organization he created happens to be the one talking to him at the very moment. Surely when he gains total power, he'll take extra precaution in murdering the scientist behind him very slow and pain-filled. "Why don't you go find the others and warn them that the time is near."

"I haven't any idea where the others are. You've let them roam around this giant house, and I can't be bothered with babysitting the children. Besides, I have to find the items on this list," Vexen grumbles, unaware of his Lord's urge to break his face becoming more and more apparent.

Closing his amber eyes, the dead man takes a deep breath. _Patience, patience, my dear friend. After this, everyone will disappear._

_~~~1908138~~~_

Crossing the silent floorboards, I fidget with my own fingers. I have my head bowed, feeling guilt beginning to rise through me. It's not fair. He's the one who causes me pain, and yet I'm the one feeling terrible. He _should _apologize to me, but he hasn't. I have, and now I'm regretting it. Of course a demon like him wouldn't understand, but that's not why I feel horrible. The guilt is eating me alive because _somehow _I continuously anger Axel, and I don't even have the slightest idea how I'm doing it. He ignores my questions, and earlier I had tried to grab onto his sleeve, in hope maybe I'll finally get his attention. The only response I received was a snarl and his wrist jerked away.

So I've given him space, and I'm staying quiet. Still, his hands curl and uncurl, as if trying to control his rage.

I open my mouth, unsure exactly what clever words will escape my lips this time, but my eyes widen and I stop dead in my tracks. I must be going insane. Hallucinating, maybe. Had I seen a shadow just now, pass by the almost burnt-out candle? Hurrying to catch up with the redhead, I attempt to ignore what I had seen. I'm probably having little delusions. There's a logical explanation as to why I'm seeing shadows, and it can't be from ghosts. Sure, I'm with one right now, but that doesn't mean every little thing that moves or casts an eerie glow means it's supernatural. Maybe a light is lit somewhere around here, and I had witnessed Axel's shadow. That sounds reasonable.

Out of nowhere, I bump into the redhead's form. Stumbling backwards, I narrow my eyes at him, but the startled threat in my voice burns down to nothing. At a corner there's another candle, and by the flame is a small figure. Blinking, I stare, the small hairs on my back of my neck rising at the thoughts in my mind. Could it be another demon, someone to challenge Axel or me? It's... It's not like the redhead would even fight for me... I don't think I can battle a spirit, so there would be no hope for me if the demon steps aside and allows me to be taken. Well, at least I can run.

"Roxas," The shadow says in a hushed voice. My eyebrows furrow. Why does that sound familiar?

"_...Stop hiding in the shadows, Zexion. You're creeping me out." _Axel finally mumbles, crossing his arms. Wait, Zexion? Truth be told, the figure takes a few steps forward, revealing violet-colored hair and a slender face.

"It's not my main goal to be creepy, I assure you, Axel." The spirit says, his voice neutral. Turning his attention to me, something in the pit of my stomach warns me. Something's wrong. "Roxas, I..." closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath, "I need you to come with me. I'm sure you won't mind, Axel?"

"_Ah, uh, no, I don't mind." _Confusion is in his tone, _"Don't mind me askin', shorty, but where are you two goin'?"_

"Th-That's none of your concern." The spirit snaps, hesitating before trudging towards me and grabbing my arm, "We have to go... Now." I frown, and at the first sign of resistance, he tightens his hold, his voice low and unsteady, "Pl-Please don't fi-fight, Roxas."

* * *

**A/N: :I Basically a test chapter. "Hellz, Hellz, What's a test chapter?" Well, my children, a test chapter is a test to see if I'm out of character or not, if I've forgotten something, added something that wasn't supposed to... You get the idea. I haven't written this story in so long, and I haven't played Kingdom Hearts in over a year, I forgot how everyone acts. -headdesk- So if would be so kind as to tell me if I'm a dumbass and Zexion sounds too robotic, or Vexen doesn't seem like his crazy normal self, don't hesitate to tell me.**

**ANYWAY I'm alive. YES. I'm alive. And I've finally forced my lazy ass off of Silent Hill and HIC to write dis shit. ; A ; Don't murder me.**

**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO AkuRokuLuv BECAUSE SHE BE WHIPPIN' MAH ASS UP UNTIL THIS UPDATE. **


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